Vaginal Cancer
What Is It?
We don’t know the exact causes of vaginal cancer. It is a rare cancer - only about 200 new cases were diagnosed in the UK in 2003.Cancer starting in another place in the body such as cancer of the cervix, womb cancer or bowel cancer can spread to the vagina. This is not the same as cancer starting in the vagina. Cancer starting in the vagina is known as primary vaginal cancer.
Because vaginal cancer is such a rare type of cancer, it is very difficult to carry out research involving large enough numbers to give any reliable results. But researchers have managed to identify several risk factors:
Cancer of the vagina mainly affects women over the age of 60
Human papilloma virus infection
HIV infection
Genital herpes infection
Pre cancerous changes to the vaginal cells
CIN or cancer of the cervix
Smoking
Vaginal itching that won’t go away
Radiotherapy in the past
Diethylstilbestrol (used to be called Diethylstilboestrol)
Symptoms
Possible symptoms:Bleeding when you are not having a period or after menopause
Pain during sexual intercourse
A lump or growth in the vagina that you or your doctor can feel
A vaginal itch that won’t go away