Definition:
A vaginal tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue in the vagina, a female reproductive organ.
Alternative Names:
Vaginal cancer; Cancer - vagina; Tumor - vaginal
Causes, incidence, and risk factors:
Most cancerous vaginal tumors occur when another cancer, such as cervical or endometrial cancer, spreads. This is called secondary vaginal cancer. Primary vaginal cancer is very rare. Most primary vaginal cancers start in skin cells called squamous cells. The rest are adenocarcinoma (6%), melanoma (3%), and sarcoma (3%). The cause of squamous cell carcinoma of the vagina is unknown. However, up to 30% of patients have had cervical cancer. About 75% of patients with squamous cell cancer of the vagina are over 50. Adenocarcinomas of the vagina more commonly affect younger women. The average age at which adenocarcinoma of the vagina is diagnosed is 19. Women whose mothers took diethylstilbestrol (DES) during the first 3 months of pregnancy are at increased risk for developing adenocarcinoma. Sarcoma botryoides of the vagina is a rare type of cancer that mainly occurs in infancy and early childhood.
References:
Dotters DJ, Katz VL. Malignant diseases of the vagina: intraepithelial neoplasia, carcinoma, sarcoma. In: Katz VL, Lentz GM, Lobo RA, Gershenson DM. Comprehensive Gynecology. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby; 2007:chap 31.
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