Vaginal cancer is the cancer of vagina. Vagina is the muscular tube connecting the uterus to outer genitals in women. Hence, vaginal cancer is a women-centric disease. Vaginal cancer occurs when the cells lining the surface of vagina, also known as the birth canal, register an abnormal growth and uncontrolled cell division.
Several types of cancer grow beyond their primary sites and spread to vagina. Vaginal cancer, which originates in vagina, is a rare type of cancer. Early-stage vaginal cancer has a higher chance of cure but it becomes difficult to treat if the cancer metastasizes to other organs.
Symptoms of Vaginal Cancer
Typical to the characteristics of any cancer, vaginal cancer hardly shows any symptom in their early stages. Symptoms show up once the cancer progresses. Symptoms of vaginal cancer include:
- A lump or mass (often painless) in vagina
- Unusual vaginal bleeding after menopause or intercourse
- Frequent urination
- Painful urination
- Watery vaginal discharge
- Constipation
- Pelvic pain
When to Consult a Doctor
Since vaginal cancer shows no symptoms in the primary stages, routine pelvic exam is highly recommended for early diagnosis. If any of the problems persists, you should not delay consulting a gynaecologist. If the physician suspects malignancy after physical examination or screening, he/she will recommend a visit to the best cancer treatment hospital in Kolkata.
Causes & Risk Factors
It is still not clear what triggers the normal cells in vagina to undergo a genetic mutation and turn malignant. However, some risk factors enhance the chance of having a vaginal cancer diagnosis.
Older Age: It is one of the common risk factors for several types of cancer. Most women with vaginal cancer get their diagnosis when they are older than 60.
Presence of Intraepithelial Neoplasia: The presence of this typical cell, also called VAIN, in vagina increases the risk of vaginal cancer occurrence. With VAIN, vaginal cells look different from normal, healthy cells though they are yet to reach the stage of malignancy. A small number of VAIN turns malignant over the course of time whereas others remain benign. Oncologists are not sure what triggers malignancy in some clusters of VAIN.
Miscarriage Prevention Drug: If your mother was exposed to any miscarriage prevention drug, it will increase your risk of developing vaginal adenocarcinoma, a certain type of vaginal cancer.
In addition to the afore-mentioned risk factors, the following factors also increase the risk of vaginal cancer:
- Intercourse at an early stage
- Multiple sexual partners
- HIV infection
- Smoking
Types of Vaginal Cancer
Depending on the type of cells involved, vaginal cancer is broadly classified into four different types.
- Vaginal squamous cell carcinoma
- Vaginal adenocarcinoma
- Vaginal melanoma
- Vaginal sarcoma
Prevention
Vaginal cancer is highly preventable through regular pelvic exams, PAP tests and HPV vaccine. PAP tests are done at the best cancer hospitals in Kolkata. If you are a smoker, quit smoking to reduce your risk of having vaginal cancer.
Human Papillomavirus or HPV, recognized as the instigator of cervical cancer, is also held responsible for vulvar or vaginal cancer. It is a sexually transmitted virus. HPV vaccine, which is highly recommended for prevention of cervical cancer, has also proved effective against vaginal cancer.