Vancouver, BC - Vulvar cancer in young women is appearing at an increasing rate, according to a new study from researchers at BC Cancer Agency and Vancouver Hospital.

The study, released today in Gynecologic Oncology Magazine, has found that this cancer, typically seen in women in their 60s and 70s, is occurring in much younger women at a growing rate.

"It used to be almost unheard of in women under 40," says Dr. Dianne Miller, gynecologic oncologist at the BC Cancer Agency, and study co-author. "It’s now occurring in younger women, and shares the same risk factors as cervical cancer."

The study - based on BCCA data from 1970 to 1998 - looked at patients from 17 to 39 years old. When the number of cases of vulvar cancer in young women was compared to the total number of cases, the percentage of tumors in young women rose steadily, increasing from one percent for the period 1975-1980 to almost eight percent for 1993-1998.

"It’s a disease that’s increasing and associated with a viral infection - Human Papilloma Virus, and with cigarette smoking," says Dr. Blake Gilks, pathologist at Vancouver Hospital, and primary investigator of the study. "If there was a decrease in smoking, and we could develop a vaccine, we could eliminate this cancer. In other centres, they’re working on vaccine development."

There is now a challenge, Miller says, to raise awareness in young women and their physicians of the potential risk. Often, when a younger woman with the symptoms associated with vulvar cancer - irritation, pain, burning or itching, and a visible sore - goes to her doctor, the area goes unexamined, Miller explains. Many physicians simply write a prescription for a yeast infection, and the area goes untreated.

"Most of the time, if there’s a sore or a lesion, it may well be noticed, but it’s simply not acted upon," she says. "The message is that someone with a non-healing vulvar sore should have it examined, and biopsied."

If caught early enough, vulvar cancer is treatable with minor surgery. If left too long without treatment, it can lead to the need for radical surgery, and can cause death.

For more information, please contact:
Nicole Adams
Public Relations Officer
BC Cancer Agency
(604) 877-6272

nadams@bccancer.bc.ca