Abstract:

Primary vaginal cancer is a rare gynecologic malignancy, which is the only female reproductive system cancer without clinical practice guidelines in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. For the treatment of primary vaginal cancer, the best treatment plan has not been proposed yet. The individualized radiotherapy and chemotherapy are still the main treatment methods for vaginal cancer, which may improve the local control rate and overall survival rate. The primary vaginal cancer at early stage usually adopts surgery or radiotherapy, while the vaginal cancer at the advanced stage may adopt the concurrent chemoradiotherapy as an effective alternative treatment. As with the other malignancies, the clinical stage at diagnosis of primary vaginal cancer is the most important prognostic factor, while age, lesion size and histologic type can also affect survival outcomes. Interestingly, the immunotherapy may be a new strategy to improve the prognosis of vaginal cancer. This paper review the treatment methods of primary vaginal cancer, including surgical approaches, radiotherapy, radiochemotherapy and immunotherapy, as well as the respective prognoses.

Key words: Vaginal neoplasms, Radiotherapy, Chemoradiotherapy, Immunotherapy, Gynecologic surgical procedures