What to Know About Chemotherapy for Vulvar Cancer
Doctors don’t often use chemotherapy as a primary treatment for vulvar cancer. Instead, they generally use it along with radiation therapy to treat advanced cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. Doctors also use it to treat cancer that comes back, called recurrent cancer.
The goal of chemotherapy is to kill the cancer cells while also reducing the chance that the cancer will spread to other parts of the body. Chemotherapy uses drugs that attack and kill any cells that divide quickly. These include cancer cells as well as some normal, fast-growing cells, such as hair cells.
How You Take It
You may take these drugs in a pill or through an IV (intravenous) line into one of your veins. When you receive them in this way, they enter your bloodstream and reach all areas of your body. This is called systemic treatment. Most women with vulvar cancer have chemotherapy in an outpatient part of the hospital, at the doctor’s office, or at home. You may also receive anticancer drugs in ointment form. You or your doctor applies it to the skin of your vulva. This is a local treatment, because it affects only the spot treated.
Common Drugs Used For Vulvar Cancer
These are the anticancer drugs doctors prescribe most often for vulvar cancer. In many cases, doctors combine more than one type of drug at a time.
- Platinol (cisplatin)
- Mutamycin (mitomycin)
- Adrucil or Efudex (fluorouracil, also called 5-FU)
- Paclitaxel (Taxol)
Researchers are conducting clinical trials to test the use of chemotherapy for women whose vulvar cancer has spread to other parts of the body. This type of treatment is meant to slow the progress of the cancer but is not expected to cure it.
What to Expect After Chemotherapy for Vulvar Cancer
Because chemotherapy drugs also damage some normal cells, you may have side effects after treatment. These depend on the type and amount of the drug you take, as well as the length of treatment. If you put ointment on your skin, you may experience some skin irritation. These are other temporary side effects after chemotherapy. Ask your doctor or nurse which is most likely to happen to you.
- Appetite loss
- Bleeding or bruising
- Hair loss
- Infection
- Menstrual cycle changes, early menopause, or infertility
- Mouth sores
- Nausea and vomiting
- Tiredness, called fatigue
