Types
There are two primary types of vaginal cancer: squamous-cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma.
- Vaginal squamous-cell carcinoma arises from the thin, flat squamous cells that line the vagina. This is the most common type of vaginal cancer. It is found most often in women aged 60 or older.
- Vaginal adenocarcinoma arises from the glandular (secretory) cells in the lining of the vagina that produce some vaginal fluids. Adenocarcinoma is more likely than squamous cell cancer to spread to the lungs and lymph nodes. It is found most often in women aged 30 or younger.
- A specific subtype of adenocarcinoma (clear cell adenocarcinoma) occurs in a small percent of women (termed "DES-Daughters") born between 1938 and 1973 (later outside the United States) that were exposed to the drug diethylstilbestrol (DES) in utero. DES was prescribed to 5 to 10 million mothers in that timespan to prevent possible miscarriages and premature birth. Typically, patients present with DES-related adenocarcinoma before age 30, but increasing evidence suggests possible effects or cancers (including other forms of vaginal glandular tumors) at a later age for DES-exposed women. DES-exposure in women is also linked to various infertility and pregnancy complications. Daughters exposed to DES in utero may also have an increased risk of moderate/severe cervical squamous cell dysplasia and an increased risk of breast cancer. Approximately one in 1,000 (0.1%) DES Daughters will be diagnosed with clear cell adenocarcinoma. The risk is virtually non-existent among premenopausal women not exposed to DES.
There are also less common forms of vaginal cancer:
- Vaginal germ cell tumors (primarily teratoma and endodermal sinus tumor) are rare. They are found most often in infants and children.
- Sarcoma botryoides, a rhabdomyosarcoma also is found most often in infants and children.
Read more about this topic: Vaginal Cancer
Famous quotes containing the word types:
“As for types like my own, obscurely motivated by the conviction that our existence was worthless if we didn’t make a turning point of it, we were assigned to the humanities, to poetry, philosophy, painting—the nursery games of humankind, which had to be left behind when the age of science began. The humanities would be called upon to choose a wallpaper for the crypt, as the end drew near.”
—Saul Bellow (b. 1915)
“The bourgeoisie loves so-called “positive” types and novels with happy endings since they lull one into thinking that it is fine to simultaneously acquire capital and maintain one’s innocence, to be a beast and still be happy.”
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)
“Our children evaluate themselves based on the opinions we have of them. When we use harsh words, biting comments, and a sarcastic tone of voice, we plant the seeds of self-doubt in their developing minds.... Children who receive a steady diet of these types of messages end up feeling powerless, inadequate, and unimportant. They start to believe that they are bad, and that they can never do enough.”
—Stephanie Martson (20th century)