A clinicopathological spectrum of vulvar and vaginal lesions in a tertiary health care centre in North India: A five-year experience

Abstract

Spectrum of lesions occur on the vulvar/vaginal regions ranging from non-neoplastic to precursor lesions to malignancy, however, these lesions presents with non-specific symptoms due to which they get unnoticed and progress. An early histopathologic examination is of paramount importance for a rapid diagnosis and initiation of treatment. Thus this study was done to study the clinicopathological spectrum of vulval and vaginal lesions with an emphasis on precursor and malignant lesions. Present study was a five-year retrospective study including all the vulval and vaginal specimens that were sent for histopathological examination. A total of 66 cases were studied ranging from non-neoplastic to malignant lesions. Maximum cases were found in the fourth decade. The most common presenting complaints were found to be ulcers, pain and nodular growth. Amongst the non-neoplastic lesions, Bartholin cyst (12.1%) was the most common lesion. Vulval/vaginal intraepithelial Neoplasia II was found to have a slightly more occurrence than VIN I and III. Neoplastic lesions formed the bulk of cases with moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (18.2%) being the most common diagnosis. Early identification and histopathological diagnosis are essential for recognization and its further categorization to initiate an early and proper treatment.