Symptoms of vulvar cancer include:

• a lump on the vulva
• itching of the vulva that does not go away
• changes in the skin of the vulva, including colour changes or growths that look like a wart or ulcer
• bleeding that is not related to menstruation
• pain or tenderness in the vulvar area.

Some women with vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) may have no symptoms, but they usually have some symptoms such as:

• itching around the vulva
• burning
• raised patches of skin or lesions that are a different colour to unaffected areas
• pain during sex.

Women should take such symptoms seriously and not assume that all itching is thrush. VIN takes years to progress to cancer, if at all, but it does need to be diagnosed, monitored and treated if needed.

Screening

Screening is the use of tests to detect a disease in people who have no symptoms.

There is no specific vulvar cancer screening program.

However, the cervical screening test is a swab test that looks for signs of HPV infection in your cervix, which may develop into cervical cancer. HPV infection is also a cause of vulvar cancer.

If you have a positive cervical screening test result, you might see a gynaecologist, who will look for signs of other types of gynaecological cancers, not just cervical cancer.

All women who have ever had sex should have a cervical screening test every 5 years from the ages of 25 to 74 years. The cervical screening test replaces the Pap smear.