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Treatment Options for Vaginal Cancer |
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The treatment plan for vaginal cancer depends on the size, stage and location of the lesions. Surgery or radiation therapy can be highly effective in early stages, while radiation therapy is the primary treatment for more advanced stages. Your gynecologic oncologist will discuss your options with you and determine the best course of treatment.
Surgery
Surgery is the most common treatment of vaginal cancer. Your options may include:
- Laser surgery: Using a precisely targeted laser beam (a narrow beam of intense light) to destroy malignant tissue.
- Wide local excision: Surgically excising (removing) the cancerous tissue along with some of the normal tissue around it.
- Vaginectomy: Surgery to remove all or part of the vagina.
- Lymphadenectomy: Lymph nodes are removed and checked under a microscope for signs of cancer. This procedure is also called lymph node dissection. If the cancer is in the upper vagina, the pelvic lymph nodes may be removed. If the cancer is in the lower vagina, lymph nodes in the groin may be removed.
- Pelvic exenteration: In advanced stages, extensive surgery may be required to remove multiple organs such as the lower colon, rectum, bladder, cervix, vagina, ovaries, and nearby lymph nodes.
Note: Skin grafting may follow surgery, to repair or reconstruct the vagina.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy is used in the treatment of a wide variety of gynecologic cancers. It may be used alone in early stage tumors or combined with chemotherapy in locally advanced disease. In addition, it may be used before or after surgery.
- High-Dose Brachytherapy is a form of internal radiation therapy where radioactive sources are placed inside the body, close to the tumor. Methods used at UCSD include cylinder, interstitial, tandem and ovoid, and tandem and ring.
- Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) is a form of external-beam radiation that uses sophisticated technologies to locate the tumor and improve treatment accuracy so that healthy tissue is not harmed.
- Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) is another state-of-the-art external beam radiation therapy that improves delivery precision, thereby minimizing dosage to surrounding normal tissue. UCSD’s Dr. Arno Mundt pioneered the use of IMRT in gynecologic cancers.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the administration of drugs by mouth, injection or IV to kills cancer cells. In vaginal cancer, chemotherapy is often administered in early stages by applying a topical cream containing anticancer drugs to the affected area.
Read more about Vaginal Cancer
 Request a Consultation with a UCSD Gynecologic Oncology Specialist Using our Online Form
 Call our New Patient Office at (858) 822-6100, or toll-free (866) 773-2703
Gynecologic Cancer Unit
Moores UCSD Cancer Center
3855 Health Sciences Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093
(866) 773-2703 |