Proportion of vulvar premalignant and malignant lesions in overall vulvar specimens in Thailand

Abstract

Abstract Background Vulvar lesion is one of the common gynecologic problems. Objective To assess the proportion of vulvar premalignant and malignant lesions in overall vulvar specimens and to evaluate the clinicopathologic features of each vulvar lesion in King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital (KCMH). Methods Pathological microscopic slides and medical records of the patients who underwent vulvar-related operations between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2015 were reviewed. Patients’ clinical characteristics and pathologic features were evaluated and analyzed. Results A total number of 700 patients were included. The proportion of malignant and premalignant lesions in overall vulvar specimens were 16.3% and 8.4%, respectively. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most common malignant vulvar lesion (48.2%), whereas vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia 1 (VIN1) (33.9%) was the most common lesion in the premalignant group. On multivariate analysis, four clinical factors were significantly associated with malignancy risk: increased parity (odds ratio [OR] 1.19, P = 0.010), large tumor size (OR 2.00, P < 0.001), lesion at clitoris (OR 16.67, P = 0.002), and erythematous lesion (OR 2.41, P = 0.026). Conclusions The proportion of malignant and premalignant lesions in overall vulvar specimens was 24.7% in KCMH. Increased parity, large tumor size, clitoris-located lesion, and erythematous lesion were associated with increasing malignancy risk.