Treatments for stage 3 vulvar cancer
The following are treatment options for stage 3 vulvar cancer. Your healthcare team will suggest treatments based on your needs and work with you to develop a treatment plan.
Surgery
Surgery is a main treatment for stage 3 vulvar cancer. The types of surgery are:
- a wide local excision
- a partial or complete radical vulvectomy
- the removal of the lymph nodes from the same side of the groin as the cancer or both sides of the groin (inguinal lymph node dissection), depending on the location of the cancer
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is usually offered for stage 3 vulvar cancer. External beam radiation therapy is used:
- with chemotherapy as the main treatment in women who cannot have surgery because of other health problems
- before surgery, with or without chemotherapy, to shrink a tumour and make it easier to completely remove
- after surgery to reduce the risk of the tumour coming back (recurring)
Chemotherapy
You may be offered chemotherapy with radiation therapy for stage 3 vulvar cancer. The types of chemotherapy drugs used are cisplatin and fluorouracil (5-fluorouracil or 5-FU, Efudex). This drug combination is used to help the radiation work better.
Clinical trials
Talk to your doctor about clinical trials open to women with vulvar cancer in Canada. Clinical trials look at new ways to prevent, find and treat cancer. Find out more about clinical trials.