Types of vulval cancer
- Squamous cell carcinoma.
Most vulval cancers (90%) develop from squamous cells, the skin cells of the vulva. These cancers usually grow very slowly over a few years. - Vulval melanoma
Vulval melanomas develop from melanin, the cells that produce pigment and give skin its colour. Only about 2–4% of vulval cancers are melanoma. - Adenocarcinoma.
These are very rare. They develop from cells that line glands in the vulval skin. Paget’s disease of the vulva is a pre-malignant condition in which glandular cells spread outwards and across the vulval skin. - Verrucous carcinoma.
This rare, very slow-growing type of cancer looks like a large wart. - Sarcomas.
These are extremely rare. Sarcomas develop from cells in tissue, such as muscle or fat under the skin, and tend to grow more quickly than other types of cancer.
