Prognosis and survival for vulvar cancer
If you have vulvar cancer, you may have questions about your prognosis. A prognosis is the doctor’s best estimate of how cancer will affect someone and how it will respond to treatment. Prognosis and survival depend on many factors. Only a doctor familiar with your medical history, the type and stage and other features of the cancer, the treatments chosen and the response to treatment can put all of this information together with survival statistics to arrive at a prognosis.
A prognostic factor is an aspect of the cancer or a characteristic of the person that the doctor will consider when making a prognosis. A predictive factor influences how a cancer will respond to a certain treatment. Prognostic and predictive factors are often discussed together. They both play a part in deciding on a treatment plan and a prognosis.
The following are prognostic and predictive factors for vulvar cancer.
Spread to the lymph nodes
The most important prognostic factor for vulvar cancer is the number of lymph nodes in the groin (inguinal nodes) that the cancer has spread to. Vulvar cancer that has not spread to any lymph nodes has the best prognosis.
Vulvar cancer that has spread to lymph nodes on both sides of the groin has a poorer prognosis than vulvar cancer that has spread only to lymph nodes on the same side of the groin as the tumour.
Stage
The stage is an important prognostic factor for most types of vulvar cancer. Women diagnosed with early stage vulvar cancer have a better prognosis than women diagnosed with cancer at a later stage.
Tumour diameter
Vulvar tumours that are 2 cm or smaller have a better prognosis than tumours that are larger than 2 cm.
Depth of tumour growth
Tumours that have grown deeper into the tissue of the vulva have a poor prognosis. The deeper the tumour has grown into the tissue, the poorer the prognosis.
Local spread
Local spread is how far the tumour has grown beyond the groin and into the surrounding tissues. The farther the tumour has spread, the poorer the prognosis.
Type of tumour
Some types of vulvar cancer have a better prognosis than others. For example, verrucous carcinoma of the vulva has a good prognosis as it usually doesn’t spread. Melanoma of the vulva has a poorer prognosis than other types of vulvar tumours because of the high rate of cancer coming back and spreading to other organs.
Time of recurrence
Vulvar cancer that comes back (recurs) more than 2 years after the initial treatment has a better prognosis than vulvar cancer that comes back sooner.