Vaginal cancer pathophysiology: Difference between revisions
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==Pathophysiology== | ==Pathophysiology== | ||
Lesions characteristically arise from the posterior wall of the upper third of the vagina. The common patterns of disease are: | Vaginal cancer is a rare type of cancer that affects women. The vagina is a tube-like organ that connects the cervix (the lower part of the uterus) to the vulva (the outside female genitals). The vagina is lined by a layer of flat cells called squamous cells. This layer of cells is also called epithelium because it is formed by epithelial cells. At birth, a baby passes through the vagina as he or she is born, so the vagina is sometimes also known as the birth canal. | ||
Women who have the human papillomavirus (HPV) are more likely than other women to develop this rare cancer. Women who have been infected with herpes simplex virus are also at higher risk for vaginal cancer. | |||
A stronger risk factor, however, is if a woman’s mother took a medicine called diethylstilbestrol (DES) when she was pregnant between 1940 and 1971. Women whose mothers took DES – known as DES daughters – develop clear-cell adenocarcinoma of the vagina or cervix more often than women in the general population. There is about one case of this type of cancer in every 1,000 daughters of women who took DES during their pregnancy.Lesions characteristically arise from the posterior wall of the upper third of the vagina. The common patterns of disease are: | |||
* An ulcerating or fungating mass or | * An ulcerating or fungating mass or | ||
Revision as of 18:30, 14 January 2019
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Vaginal cancer Microchapters |
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
On gross pathology, an ulcerating or fungating mass, or an annular constricting lesion is characteristic finding of vaginal cancer.
Pathophysiology
Vaginal cancer is a rare type of cancer that affects women. The vagina is a tube-like organ that connects the cervix (the lower part of the uterus) to the vulva (the outside female genitals). The vagina is lined by a layer of flat cells called squamous cells. This layer of cells is also called epithelium because it is formed by epithelial cells. At birth, a baby passes through the vagina as he or she is born, so the vagina is sometimes also known as the birth canal. Women who have the human papillomavirus (HPV) are more likely than other women to develop this rare cancer. Women who have been infected with herpes simplex virus are also at higher risk for vaginal cancer.
A stronger risk factor, however, is if a woman’s mother took a medicine called diethylstilbestrol (DES) when she was pregnant between 1940 and 1971. Women whose mothers took DES – known as DES daughters – develop clear-cell adenocarcinoma of the vagina or cervix more often than women in the general population. There is about one case of this type of cancer in every 1,000 daughters of women who took DES during their pregnancy.Lesions characteristically arise from the posterior wall of the upper third of the vagina. The common patterns of disease are:
- An ulcerating or fungating mass or
- An annular constricting lesion
Vaginal squamous cell carcinoma arises from the thin, flat squamous cells that line the vagina. Vaginal adenocarcinoma arises from the glandular (secretory) cells in the lining of the vagina that produce some vaginal fluids.