William M. Rich, MD

September 27, 2011

This is a term that includes several conditions that are associated with the results of a pregnancy. The conditions are molar pregnancy, invasive mole, metastatic mole and gestational choriocarcinoma(korio carcinoma). These are cancers and cancer like conditions of placental elements. The concept is so far beyond most people's experience, that unless they have been to medical school they will never have heard of it. It is not uncommon.

September 27, 2011

Cancer of the vagina is rare. It is almost always a squamous cell cancer. The exception is an adenocarcinoma that occurs in women who were exposed to DES (diethylstilbestrol) in-utero. One of the reasons that it is rare is that cancers of the vagina that also involve the vulva are considered to be vulvar cancers; if it involves the cervix it is considered to be a cervical cancer. Vaginal cancer may cause symptoms of abnormal bleeding and foul discharge. Bleeding after intercourse is a symptom of cancer of the vagina as well as cancer of the cervix.

September 27, 2011

The cervix is the part of the uterus connected to the upper vagina. It is the structure that dilates during childbirth to allow the baby to traverse the birth canal. There are two major types of cancer that develop from the cervix. Squamous cell cancers arise from the squamous epithelium that covers the visible part of the cervix. Adenocarcinomas arise from the glandular lining of the endocervical canal.

September 27, 2011

Cancer of the vulva is not a common disease. There are about 4,000 new cases each year in the United States. Although it can occur in women in the third and fourth decade it is usually diagnosed in older women. Over 95% of vulvar cancers arise from the squamous epithelium. The remainder are mostly melanomas. The cause of squamous cancer of the vulva is unknown but there is a weak association with Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). The most important feature about vulvar cancers is the premalignant phase.

September 27, 2011

Cancer statistics are usually not based on an accurate count of cases but on estimations derived from various sources. There is no national cancer registry that counts every cancer diagnosed each year. The American Cancer Society publishes annual estimates based on a compilation of several local tumor registries and extrapolates these to the US population. Like all statistics, cancer numbers can be misused and misunderstood.

September 27, 2011

Cancer is an abnormal proliferation of cells which have uncontrolled growth. They have the ability to grow into adjacent tissue and to spread to distant parts of the body. A cell is the basic building block and the fundamental functioning unit of the body. A sphere about one fourth of an inch in diameter contains about 1,000,000,000 cells (109).