Carcinoma of the vulva has commonly been recognized as a disease of postmenopausal women, but some cases have been reported in young women during pregnancy.
Medical records were reviewed for a patient with vulvar carcinoma diagnosed in pregnancy. Using Medline and cross references, pertinent articles were sought and reviewed.
A 28-year-old Afghan woman in her sixth pregnancy presented with a vulvar lesion. Subsequent biopsy revealed squamous cell carcinoma. The patient was treated with local excision. She had a cesarean section in her 36th week of pregnancy. She underwent modified radical vulvectomy with bilateral groin dissection four weeks after cesarean. Because of a grossly positive groin lymph node, she also underwent radiation therapy. She is alive without invasive cancer 7 months after diagnosis.
This case demonstrates the need to biopsy all suspicious vulvar lesions, even in young and pregnant women.
