Trend, Epidemiology, and Clinical Characteristics of Vulvar Cancers in Lagos, Nigeria: A Facility-Based Study

Background Vulvar cancer (VC) is a rare gynecological cancer (GC) that is not commonly studied. Because of its location, vulvar symptoms are not frequently brought to the clinician's attention. Many women are not aware of VC and frequently attribute its early symptoms to other benign causes. In addition, little is known about the disease epidemiology and clinical characteristics in Lagos, Nigeria. Objectives Our study aimed to describe the trend, epidemiology, and clinical characteristics of VC in Lagos, Nigeria. Materials and methods Records of women with VC who presented to Lagos University Teaching Hospital between January 2010 and December 2019 were retrieved, and information on their socio-demographic and clinical characteristics was obtained for analysis. Data analysis was done using IBM Corp. Released 2017. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 25.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp. Results VC accounted for 4.0% of all GC managed in the hospital. There was a rising trend in the number of VCs managed during the study period, with 75.9% of cases managed in the last five years. The mean ± SD age of women with VC was 52.2 ± 11.8 years, with 27 (60.0%) above 50 years old. The majority had low-level occupations, 35 (77.8%), multiple sexual partners, 29 (64.4%); history of genital warts, 35 (77.8%); vulvar skin lesions, 40 (88.9%), and were menopausal, 26 (57.8%). The most common presenting symptom was vulvar swelling 32 (71.1%) and 20 (44.4%) presented with stage III disease. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most common histological type, 35 (77.8%), while the use of only surgery, 15 (33.3%), chemotherapy, 4 (8.9%), radiotherapy, 4 (8.9%), and chemoradiation, 4 (8.9%), were the most common treatment modalities. Conclusion VC accounts for 4.0% of GC in Lagos, Nigeria, and its prevalence is rising. Women with VC are usually advanced in age, postmenopausal, have a history of multiple sexual partners, and frequently present in advanced-stage disease. There is a need to increase awareness about the disease and support its care to improve health outcomes.