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Vulvar Pathology pp 297–324Cite as

Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Vulva

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Abstract

Vulvar squamous cell carcinoma is a rare and heterogeneous disease. Young women who develop vulvar squamous cell carcinoma tend to develop non-keratinizing histological types (warty and basaloid squamous cell carcinomas) in the setting of warty and/or basaloid-type usual vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (uVIN); these tumors are commonly human papillomavirus (HPV) related. Older women who develop vulvar squamous cell carcinoma tend to develop keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma often adjacent to differentiated-type VIN; these tumors are not HPV related, rather they frequently arise in the setting of lichen sclerosus (LS). Keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma is the most commonly encountered histological type, but rare histological variants of squamous cell are sometimes identified such as verrucous carcinoma, keratoacanthoma-like squamous cell carcinoma, sarcomatoid carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma with tumor giant cells. Regardless of the tumor histology and etiology, surgery is the mainstay of staging and treatment for patients with resectable disease.

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Abbreviations

AJCC:

American Joint Commission on Cancer

BCC:

Basal cell carcinoma

CAP:

College of American Pathologists

CGH:

Comparative genomic hybridization

EMA:

Epithelial membrane antigen

FIGO:

International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

GOG:

Gynecology Oncology Group

H&E:

Hematoxylin and eosin

HMB-45:

Human melanoma black-45

HPV:

Human papilloma virus

HSIL:

High-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion

HSV:

Herpes simplex virus

KA:

Keratoacanthoma

MSI:

Microsatellite instability

LS:

Lichen sclerosus

N/C:

Nucleus to cytoplasm ratio

PEH:

Pseudoepitheliomatous hyperplasia

Rb:

Retinoblastoma

SCC:

Squamous cell carcinoma

SMA:

Smooth muscle actin

TNM:

Tumor-Node-Metastasis

TTF-1:

Thyroid transcription factor-1

uVIN:

Usual vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia

VAAD:

Vulvar acanthosis with altered differentiation

VIN:

Vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia

vSCC:

Vulvar squamous cell carcinoma

WHO:

World Health Organization

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Duke University Health System, Durham, NC, USA

    Sarah M. Bean M.D. & Rex C. Bentley M.D.

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  1. Sarah M. Bean M.D.
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  2. Rex C. Bentley M.D.
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Correspondence to Sarah M. Bean M.D. .

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  1. Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Mai P. Hoang

  2. Department of Pathology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA

    Maria Angelica Selim

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Bean, S.M., Bentley, R.C. (2015). Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Vulva. In: Hoang, M., Selim, M. (eds) Vulvar Pathology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1807-2_10

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