Pregnancy and cesarean delivery after multimodal therapy for vulvar carcinoma: A case report

Mol Clin Oncol. 2016 Nov;5(5):583-586. doi: 10.3892/mco.2016.1021. Epub 2016 Sep 19.

Abstract

Reports of pregnancy following treatment for vulvar carcinoma are extremely uncommon, as the main problem of subsequent pregnancy is vulvar scarring following radical surgery. We herein report the case of a patient who was diagnosed with stage I squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva at the age of 17 years and was treated with multimodal therapy, including neoadjuvant chemotherapy, wide local excision with bilateral inguinal lymph node dissection and adjuvant radiotherapy. The patient became pregnant spontaneously 9 years after her initial diagnosis and the antenatal course was good, except for mild acute pyelonephritis at 25 weeks of gestation. An elective caesarean section was performed at 38 weeks of gestation due to vulvar scarring following multimodal therapy, particularly radiotherapy. The patient remains alive and well, without signs of recurrence or metastasis 12 years after her diagnosis and treatment. Radical vulvectomy as well as multimodal therapy for vulvar carcinoma, particularly radiotherapy, may cause extensive skin scarring. The presence of vulvar scarring following multimodal therapy for vulvar carcinoma may increase the incidence of caesarean delivery.

Keywords: caesarean delivery; multimodal therapy; pregnancy; squamous cell carcinoma; vulvar carcinoma.