Introduction/Background*Vulvar cancer is a rare neoplasm of the female genital organs. In 2020, less than 1% of women in Poland was diagnosed with this disease. Nevertheless, it remains an important clinical problem due to its localization and therapeutic difficulties. The aim of the study was to investigate risk factors, treatment protocols, treatment outcomes, the prevalence of histopathological types and the quality of life of patients with vulvar lesions.

Methodology The case-control retrospective study involved 138 patients hospitalized in 2010-2020 at the Department of Surgery and Gynecological Oncology, Medical University in Lodz, Poland. The prospective part of the study constituted follow-up that was carried out in the form of a telephone survey. The patients were divided into two groups: with benign lesions (Gr.B) and malignant (Gr.M). The data was statistically processed using the Statistica13.1 program.

Result(s)*Malignant lesions were found in 43 patients (31.16%). Patients with benign lesions were significantly younger (57.79vs.69.67;p=0.003), had fewer pregnancies (1.76vs.268;p=0.0009) and gave birth less frequently (1,35vs.2.35;p=0.0002). There was no significant difference between the groups in BMI (p=0.7141), number of miscarriages (p=0.4469), time of menopause (p=0.1544) and smoking (p=0.5533)). In group M 86.05% of women had squamous cell carcinoma, 4.65% basal cell carcinoma, 2.33% vulvar melanoma and 2.33% extra-mammary Paget’s disease. There was a high positive correlation between tumor diameter and length of hospitalization (R=0.5523;p=0.0010) and a weak positive correlation between age and length of hospitalization (R=0.2835;p=0.0010). Five-year survival was found in 77.78% of women in total. In group B, improvement in the quality of life was noted in 42.86% of women who started treatment after hospitalization and 36.84% of women who did not start treatment. The changes in the quality of life between the groups were not statistically significant (p=0.9115).

Conclusion*The anticipated facts were proven in the studied group: incidence of vulvar cancer was significantly higher in the postmenopausal women, the most common malignant neoplasm was keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma. The time of hospitalization increased with the increase in tumor diameter and the age of the woman. Treatment of women with benign lesions did not significantly improve the quality of life.