Complications of radical surgery for vulvar cancer include wound breakdown or infection, chronic leg swelling, collection of lymphatic fluid in the groin (lymphocyst), scarring of the vaginal opening, vaginal or uterine prolapse, loss of urine when coughing (stress incontinence), blood clots in the leg that can dislodge and go to the lung (pulmonary embolism, which occurs in 1 to 3 percent of women), and death (approximately 1 to 2 percent).
Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy In recent years, chemotherapy has been used in
combination with local external beam radiation therapy and occasionally with interstitial radiation, in which radioactive iridium is temporarily placed directly into the cancer. This treatment has been used for women with advanced cancers, allowing subsequent surgical removal of the tumor or the preservation of the bladder or anus.
Currently, there is no standard chemotherapy for advanced or recurrent cancer, but drugs that are sometimes effective for other squamous cell carcinomas of the genital tract—such as cisplatin , mitomycin-C , 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), Cytoxan and bleomycin—have been used with some success.
