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Vaginal Cancer

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International Manual of Oncology Practice

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Abstract

The vagina is a muscular part of the female genital tract, and it extends from the vulva to the cervix. Its length is approximately 7.5 cm, and anatomically, it is found between the bladder and the rectum. The wall of the vagina has three layers: mucosa, muscularis and adventitia. The mucosa is formed by squamous epithelium [Nikolaou M. Vaginal cancer, international manual of oncology practice. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21683-6_20, 2015]. The upper third of the vagina is the part in which cancer is most common (56%), secondarily the lower third (31%) and lastly the middle third (13%) [Slomovitz BM, Coleman RL. Invasive cancer of the vagina. In: DiSaia PJ, Creasman WT (eds) Clinical gynecologic oncology, 8th edn. Elsevier Saunders, Philadelphia, pp 245–259, 2012]. The upper two-thirds of the vagina drain mainly into the pelvic lymph nodes, in contrast with the lower third that drains into the inguinal lymph nodes. This knowledge helps in understanding the mechanism of metastasis and the choice of the best treatment in a given case [Monaghan JM. Invasive tumor of vagina: clinical features and management. In: Coppleson M (ed) Gynecologic oncology. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh, p 506, 1992].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oncology Unit, HELENA VENIZELOU General and Maternity District Hospital, Athens, Greece

    Michail Nikolaou

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  1. Michail Nikolaou
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Medical Oncology, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) & Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, Brazil, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Medicine, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal

    Ramon Andrade De Mello

  2. Oncology Department, Henry Dunant Hospital Center, Athens, Greece

    Giannis Mountzios

  3. Department of Biomedical Sciences and Medicine, Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal

    Álvaro A. Tavares

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Nikolaou, M. (2019). Vaginal Cancer. In: De Mello, R., Mountzios, G., Tavares, Á. (eds) International Manual of Oncology Practice. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16245-0_24

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