Prognostic Factors and Recurrence Patterns of Vulvar Cancer

Objective: Vulvar cancer is a rare disease among gynecological cancers, mostly affecting postmenopausal women. The associated prognostic factors are not clear enough and the results in the studies are inconclusive due to rarity. We aimed to determine the impact of clinicopathological and therapeutic prognostic factors on the course of treatment and the patient's survival. The characteristics of recurrences, anatomic localization, and treatment strategies are also described. Material and Methods: A total of 46 patients with clinicopathological diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma of vulva who were treated at our tertiary care center between 2004 and 2021 were included in this retrospective cohort analysis study. Data on demographic, clinical and obstetric characteristics of patients at the time of initial diagnosis as well as tumor clinicopathologic features, treatment modalities, and oncological outcomes were recorded. Data were analyzed using Cox proportional hazards regression and Kaplan-Meier methods. Results: The overall recurrence rate was 34.7% (n=16). The average median overall survival (OS), 5-year OS rate and median 5-year OS was 172 months, 63.6% and 51.9 months, respectively. Five-year progression-free survival rate was 71.7%. Patients experiencing recurrence demonstrating a notably shorter survival duration compared to those without recurrence (p