Uterine and Endometrial Cancer Treatments
If you've been diagnosed with vaginal or vulvar cancer, the caring specialists at Northwestern Medicine offer the latest therapy options. Often, your care plan will include a combination of treatments.
Surgery
Surgery is the most common treatment of vaginal cancer. The following surgical procedures may be used for Vaginal Cancer.
Surgery for vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) and vulvar cancer may include:
- Laser surgery: A surgical procedure that uses a laser beam (a narrow beam of intense light) as a knife to make bloodless cuts in tissue or to remove a surface lesion such as a tumor.
- Wide local excision: A surgical procedure that takes out the cancer and some of the healthy tissue around it.
- Vaginectomy: Surgery to remove all or part of the vagina.
- Total hysterectomy: Surgery to remove the uterus, including the cervix. If the uterus and cervix are taken out through the vagina, the operation is called a vaginal hysterectomy. If the uterus and cervix are taken out through a large incision (cut) in the abdomen, the operation is called a total abdominal hysterectomy. If the uterus and cervix are taken out through a small incision in the abdomen using a laparoscope, the operation is called a total laparoscopic hysterectomy.
- Lymph node dissection: A surgical procedure in which lymph nodes are removed and a sample of tissue is checked under a microscope for signs of cancer. This procedure is also called lymphadenectomy. 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: Surgery to remove the lower colon, rectum, bladder, cervix, vagina, and ovaries. Nearby lymph nodes are also removed. Artificial openings (stoma) are made for urine and stool to flow from the body into a collection bag.
Surgery for vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) and vulvar cancer may include:
- Separate excision of a lesion: A surgical procedure to remove a lesion of concern.
- Wide local excision: A surgical procedure to remove the area of skin affected by VIN and some of the normal tissue around it.
- Laser surgery: A surgical procedure that uses a laser beam (a narrow beam of intense light) as a knife to make bloodless cuts in tissue or to remove a surface lesion such as a tumor.
- Ultrasound surgical aspiration: A surgical procedure to break the tumor up into small pieces using very fine vibrations. The small pieces of tumor are washed away and removed by suction. This procedure causes less damage to nearby tissue.
- Skinning vulvectomy: The top layer of vulvar skin where the VIN is found is removed. Skin grafts from other parts of the body may be needed to cover the area where the skin was removed.
- Wide local excision: A surgical procedure to remove the cancer and some of the normal tissue around the cancer.
- Radical local excision: A surgical procedure to remove the cancer and a large amount of normal tissue around it. Nearby lymph nodes in the groin may also be removed.
- Vulvectomy: A surgical procedure to remove part or all of the vulva:
- Modified radical vulvectomy: Surgery to remove most of the vulva. Nearby lymph nodes may also be removed.
- Radical vulvectomy: Surgery to remove the entire vulva. Nearby lymph nodes are also removed.
- Pelvic exenteration: A surgical procedure to remove the lower colon, rectum, and bladder. The cervix, vagina, ovaries, and nearby lymph nodes are also removed. Artificial openings (stoma) are made for urine and stool to flow from the body into a collection bag.
- Skin grafting may follow surgery, to repair or reconstruct the vagina. Skin grafting is a surgical procedure in which skin is moved from one part of the body to another. A piece of healthy skin is taken from a part of the body that is usually hidden, such as the buttock or thigh, and used to repair or rebuild the area treated with surgery.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. There are two types of radiation therapy:
- External radiation therapy uses a machine outside the body to send radiation toward the cancer.
- Internal radiation therapy uses a radioactive substance sealed in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters that are placed directly into or near the cancer.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. When chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, the drugs enter the bloodstream and can affect cancer cells throughout the body (systemic chemotherapy). When chemotherapy is placed directly into the cerebrospinal fluid, an organ, or a body cavity such as the abdomen, the drugs mainly affect cancer cells in those areas (regional chemotherapy). The way the chemotherapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated.
Topical chemotherapy for squamous cell vaginal cancer may be applied to the vagina in a cream or lotion.
Topical chemotherapy for squamous cell vaginal cancer may be applied to the vagina in a cream or lotion.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is a treatment that uses the patient’s immune system to fight cancer. Substances made by the body or made in a laboratory are used to boost, direct, or restore the body’s natural defenses against cancer. This type of cancer treatment is also called biotherapy or biologic therapy.
Imiquimod is an immune response modifier used to treat vulvar lesions and is applied to the skin in a cream.
Imiquimod is an immune response modifier used to treat vulvar lesions and is applied to the skin in a cream.
