Skip to main content
  • COVID-19
    • COVID-19 vaccines and cancer
      • FAQs
      • FAQs in-language
      • SerOzNET Study
    • COVID-19 information for people affected by cancer
      • Managing your cancer care in the context of COVID-19
      • Looking after your mental wellbeing
      • Canada
      • Ireland
      • UK
      • USA
    • COVID-19 information for children and young people with cancer
    • Cancer Won’t Wait
    • Cancer and COVID-19 - what it means for our Mob
      • COVID-19 vaccines: Information for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people affected by cancer
      • Act early for our Mob's health
    • Guidance for health professionals
      • Diagnosis
      • Treatment
      • Surgery
      • Medical oncology
      • Radiation oncology
      • Primary care
      • Telehealth
      • Clinical trials
      • Follow-up care
      • Supportive and Palliative care
      • Cancer care for cancer patients with COVID-19
      • COVID-19 vaccines and cancer
      • Recovery
    • Research articles
      • Review articles
      • Data articles
      • Recommendations articles
      • Shared experience articles
      • COVID-19 vaccines and cancer articles
    • Cancer care in the time of COVID-19: A conceptual framework
    • Optimal cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic: the Principles
    • The impact of COVID-19 on cancer services
    • COVID-19 Recovery: Implications for cancer care
      • Expanded use of telehealth
      • Changes to prevention and early detection
      • Virtual multidisciplinary team meetings
      • Modifications to treatment schedules
      • Hypofractionated radiotherapy
      • Oncology hospital in the home
      • Responsive patient support
      • Innovative care and hospital infrastructure models
      • Shared follow-up and survivorship care
      • Supportive and palliative care
      • Cancer research and clinical trials
      • Collaboration in the oncology sector and data sharing
      • Acknowledgements
  • About us
    • Organisational structure
    • Accountability and reporting
      • Annual reports
    • Who we work with
      • Roles & functions
      • Advisory Council
      • Advisory groups
      • Consumer engagement
      • Government cancer control organisations
    • Information publication scheme
      • Information publication scheme plan
      • Freedom of information act
        • The FOI request process
      • FOI disclosure log
    • Reconciliation action plan
    • Employment opportunities
  • News and media
    • News
    • Subscribe to our eNewsletter
  • Contact us
Cancer Australia
Choose Language
  • العربية
  • 简体中文
  • 繁體中文
  • Ελληνικά
  • हिन्दी
  • Italiano
  • 한국어
  • Español
  • Tagalog
  • Tiếng Việt
  • العربية
  • 简体中文
  • 繁體中文
  • Ελληνικά
  • हिन्दी
  • Italiano
  • 한국어
  • Español
  • Tagalog
  • Tiếng Việt
  • العربية
  • 简体中文
  • 繁體中文
  • Ελληνικά
  • हिन्दी
  • Italiano
  • 한국어
  • Español
  • Tagalog
  • Tiếng Việt
  • Home
  • Cancer types
  • Impacted by Cancer
  • Awareness
  • Research
  • Resources
  • Clinicians hub
  • Key initiatives
  • Home
  • Cancer types
    • Bladder cancer
    • Bowel cancer
    • Brain cancer
    • Breast cancer
    • Breast cancer in men
    • Breast cancer in young women
    • Cervical cancer
    • Children’s cancer
    • Endometrial cancer
    • Fallopian cancer
    • Gestational trophoblastic disease
    • Gynaecological cancers
    • Head and neck cancer
    • Kidney cancer
    • Leukaemia
    • Liver cancer
    • Lung cancer
    • Lymphoma
    • Melanoma
    • Mesothelioma cancer
    • Myeloma
    • Neuroendocrine tumours
    • Oesophageal cancer
    • Ovarian cancer
    • Pancreatic cancer
    • Prostate cancer
    • Sarcoma
    • Stomach cancer
    • Testicular cancer
    • Thyroid cancer
    • Unknown primary cancer
    • Uterine cancer
    • Vaginal cancer
    • Vulval cancer
  • Impacted by Cancer
    • What is cancer
    • Physical changes
    • Treatment
    • Keeping healthy
    • Emotions
    • Family and relationships
    • Living with cancer
  • Awareness
    • Your cancer risk
    • Screening
    • Interactive body map
  • Research
    • Cancer Research in Australia
    • Data and statistics
    • Australian Clinical Trials
    • Support for cancer clinical trials
    • Grants and funding
  • Resources
    • Cancer Australia Publications
    • Clinical Practice Guidelines
    • Position statements
    • Resources in other languages
    • Cancer Australia websites
    • Cancer risk online assessment tools
    • Other tools and resources
    • Podcasts
    • Cancer support organisations
    • Glossary
  • Clinicians hub
    • GP guides and resources
    • Guidelines by cancer type
    • Optimal cancer care pathways
    • Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
    • Multidisciplinary care
    • Psychosocial care
    • Follow-up care
    • Family cancer clinics
    • Cancer Learning
    • Consumer engagement
  • Key initiatives
    • For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
    • Australian Cancer Plan
    • Australian Brain Cancer Mission
    • Jeannie Ferris Award
    • Lung Cancer Screening
    • National Pancreatic Cancer Roadmap
    • Campaigns & events

Vulval cancer

vulval-mm cancer-types/vulval-cancer/overview
    • Home
    • Types
    • Statistics
    • Risk factors
    • Symptoms
    • Diagnosis
      • Staging and grading
      • VIN
    • Treatment
      • Effects on fertility
    • Living with
      • Physical changes
      • Emotional changes
    • Life after
    • Finding support
    • Clinical trials
    • Health professionals
    • Home
    • Types
    • Statistics
    • Risk factors
    • Symptoms
    • Diagnosis
      • Staging and grading
      • VIN
    • Treatment
      • Effects on fertility
    • Living with
      • Physical changes
      • Emotional changes
    • Life after
    • Finding support
    • Clinical trials
    • Health professionals
  1. Home
  2. Risk factors
Loading...

What are the risk factors for vulval cancer?

  • Printer-friendly version
  • A|A

Although the cause of cancer of the vulva remains unknown, it has been linked to certain risk factors.

A risk factor is anything that increases your chances of getting a disease. Having a risk factor does not mean that you will get cancer, and not having risk factors does not mean that you won’t get cancer. If you think you may be at risk of vulval cancer, you should discuss this with your doctor.

Cancer of the vulva, like other cancers, is not infectious and cannot be passed on to other people. An inherited faulty gene does not cause it, and so other members of your family are not likely to be at risk of developing it.

The known risk factors for vulval cancer are:

  • precancerous conditions
  • skin conditions
  • smoking.

Precancerous conditions

A condition called VIN (vulval intraepithelial neoplasia) occurs in the skin of the vulva and can develop into vulval cancer if left untreated.

For more information about VIN, see Vulval cell changes.

Skin conditions

Women who have certain noncancerous skin conditions for a long time have an increased risk of developing vulval cancer. These conditions, called vulval lichen sclerosus and vulval lichen planus, affect the skin in the vulval area. The skin can become inflamed and itchy, and split and crack, causing pain. The vulva may become distorted, and change in shape and size.

Almost two-thirds of vulval cancers occur in women who also have lichen sclerosus, but only a small percentage (1–2%) of women with lichen sclerosus will go on to develop vulval cancer.

Smoking

Cigarette smoking increases the risk of developing both VIN and vulval cancer. This may be because smoking can make the immune system work less effectively.

 

  • Last Updated
  • Relevant Links
updated: 26 September 2021 - 11:06am
American Cancer Society, Vulvar cancer
National Cancer Institute (US), Vulvar cancer treatment (PDQ®), patient version
Australian Cancer Trials

Related information

What is cancer?
What is cancer?

Cancer is a disease of the cells, which are the body’s basic building blocks.

Treatment and side effects
Treatment and side effects

The treatment that your doctors recommend will depend on the type of cancer you have, how advanced it is, and other personal factors.

Living with cancer
Living with cancer

A diagnosis of cancer marks the beginning of a journey full of emotional, psychological, physical and practical challenges.

Life after cancer
Life after cancer

While looking forward to finishing their cancer treatment and getting on with life, for some people, the end of treatment can also be a confusing or worrying time.

A-Z List of Cancer Types

Information on more than 70 types of cancer

  • Bladder cancer
  • Bowel cancer
  • Brain cancer
  • Breast cancer
  • Breast cancer in men
  • Breast cancer in young women
  • Cervical cancer
  • Children's Cancer
  • Endometrial cancer
  • Fallopian cancer
  • Gestational trophoblastic disease
  • Gynaecological cancers
  • Head and neck cancer
  • Kidney cancer
  • Leukaemia
  • Liver cancer
  • Lung cancer
  • Lymphoma
  • Melanoma of the skin
  • Mesothelioma cancer
  • Myeloma
  • Neuroendocrine tumours
  • Oesophageal cancer
  • Ovarian cancer
  • Pancreatic cancer
  • Prostate cancer
  • Sarcoma
  • Stomach cancer
  • Testicular cancer
  • Thyroid cancer
  • Unknown primary
  • Uterine sarcoma
  • Vaginal cancer
  • Vulval cancer

About Cancer Australia

Cancer Australia was established by the Australian Government in 2006 to benefit all Australians affected by cancer, and their families and carers. Cancer Australia aims to reduce the impact of cancer, address disparities and improve outcomes for people affected by cancer by leading and coordinating national, evidence-based interventions across the continuum of care.

If you would like an interpreter to help you understand any information on this website, please call TIS National on 131 450 and ask them to call Cancer Australia on 02 9357 9400. Our business hours are 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Freecall 1800 624 973
+61 2 9357 9400

Locked Bag 3, Strawberry Hills
NSW 2012

Navigation

  • Cancer types
  • Impacted by Cancer
  • Awareness
  • Research
  • Resources
  • Clinicians hub
  • Key initiatives

Contact us

* Denotes mandatory fields
 

By submitting this form, you accept the Cancer Australia privacy policy.

  • Contact Us
  • Copyright
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy policy
  • Sitemap
Copyright © 2022 - Cancer Australia