Cancer Types

Treatment for vaginal cancer will be tailored to your specific needs. Sometimes two or more treatments are combined. Chemotherapy or radiation can be used before surgery to help shrink the tumor and make it easier to remove. Sometimes radiation is used to treat lymph nodes that may have cancer.

One or more of the following therapies may be recommended to treat vaginal cancer or to help relieve symptoms.

Local treatment

The drug acts directly on the cancer cells. Local therapy is not used to treat invasive vaginal cancer.

Surgical operation

Surgical procedures can be used to:

Early vaginal cancer

sarcoma

melanoma

Your team of doctors will decide which method is best for you. Common surgical procedures for vaginal cancer include:

Laser surgery: This procedure can be used to treat precancerous lesions, but not invasive vaginal cancer. The abnormal cells are burned with a laser beam.

Excision: Surgical removal of cancer cells and some of the tissue on either side of the cancer cells.

Vaginal removal: removal of all or part of the vagina.

Trachomatotomy: Surgical removal of the cervix and surrounding tissues, but not the vagina. This procedure is sometimes used for young women who wish to preserve their fertility.

The lymph nodes can be removed surgically. Hysterectomy or suture is used to help support the base of the uterus. If more cancer is found during surgery, a hysterectomy may be performed.

This is a highly specialized procedure that requires a great deal of skill on the part of the surgeon to succeed. If you are considering this procedure to treat vaginal cancer, make sure the doctor is highly experienced in the procedure.

Hysterectomy: This surgery removes the uterus and cervix, but does not remove the tissue adjacent to the uterus. The vagina and nearby lymph nodes are not removed. The surgery can be performed through the vagina or through an incision in the abdomen.

Radical hysterectomy: The cervix, uterus, part of the vagina, tissues around the cervix (Parametria), and nearby lymph nodes are removed, either through the vagina or through an incision in the abdomen. The ovaries and fallopian tubes can also be removed. This is known as bilateral albinary-oophorectomy (BSO).

Vaginal reconstruction: Surgery to remove the cervix and surrounding tissue, but not the vagina. The procedure is sometimes available for young women who wish to preserve their fertility.

Lymphadenectomy: If the cancer has spread to lymph nodes in the groin or pelvic region, or if the surgeon wants to check if they have spread, it may be necessary to surgically remove the glands. This is also called a lymph node dissection. Lymphedema is caused by reduced fluid drainage and can be a side effect of surgery.

Pelvic organ excision: Although this procedure is rarely used for vaginal cancer, it may be needed if the cancer returns or cannot be treated with radiation. As with the organs and tissues removed in a radical hysterectomy, the bladder, cervix, rectum, and part of the colon are also removed.

If the bladder is removed, a piece of intestine can be used to create a new bladder. Urine can then be discharged through a catheter (tube) into the urinary orifice, which is a small opening in the abdomen, or a small plastic bag worn on the outside of the body.

If the rectum and part of the colon are removed, you may need a colostomy, which is an opening in the abdomen that allows solid waste (stool) to enter a small bag that is pierced on the outside of the body. Sometimes it is possible to reattach the colon so that a colostomy is not required.

chemotherapy

Vaginal cancer patients are offered the latest advanced chemotherapy.

radiotherapy

New radiation therapy techniques and extraordinary skills allow doctors to more precisely target vaginal cancer tumors, delivering the maximum amount of radiation therapy with the least damage to healthy cells.

Advanced radiation treatments offered include:

Brachytherapy: Tiny radioactive particles or rods are placed in the body close to the tumor.

External beam radiation: machines from outside the body