Vaginal Cancer Symptoms
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Vaginal Cancer Symptoms
Vaginal cancers are rare and often do not cause symptoms until the disease has progressed. Once vaginal cancers become invasive, women often experience:
- Abnormal vaginal bleeding
- Abnormal vaginal discharge
- An obvious mass
- Pain during intercourse
In more advanced vaginal cancers, women often complain of painful urination, constipation and continuous pelvic pain.
While these symptoms could also indicate any number of non-cancerous conditions, a woman should discuss any unusual pain or abnormal discharges with their gynecologist. Common vaginal cancer symptoms may be a sign of an infection that may require medical treatment.
To evaluate your condition, your doctor may first ask for a comprehensive medical history to check for vaginal cancer risk factors, and may also perform a pelvic exam and a Pap test. If abnormal cells are found during this initial testing, your doctor may biopsy the area.
Regular gynecological exams help doctors find pre-cancerous conditions and early invasive cancers before symptoms may even be present.
Vaginal Intraepithelial Neoplasia (VAIN)
Squamous cell carcinomas are the most common form of vaginal cancer. These abnormal cells develop in the surface layer of the vaginal skin over time and often without any symptoms. Most often doctors categorize these abnormal cells as vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia (VAIN), a pre-cancerous condition.
Not all cases of VAIN become cancer. Identifying this condition allows for closer monitoring and better enables your doctor to qualify your overall risk for vaginal cancer. A routine Pap test may be able to detect this pre-cancerous condition.
HPV Symptoms
There are more than 100 strains of HPV, a sexually-transmitted virus that is often associated with genital warts. These viruses live only on squamous epithelial cells, which are flat, thin cells found on the surface of the skin, cervix, vagina, anus, vulva, head of the penis, mouth, and throat. About 60 types of HPV cause warts on non-genital skin, such as hands and feet, while the other types affect mucous membranes found in the genital region.
There are some strains of HPV that may be considered a low-risk. HPV-6 and HPV-11 are common types that may cause cauliflower-shaped warts and low-grade changes in the cervix that rarely grow into cancer. However, some types of HPV may not cause warts or any other visible symptom. Many of the high-risk strains of HPV may not show any signs.
Men and women with HPV often do not have symptoms. The most common symptom, genital warts, may appear weeks, months, and in rare cases, years after exposure. In many cases a healthy immune system is able to clear the body of both low- and high-risk HPV infections after about two years.
NOTE: These symptoms may be attributed to a number of conditions other than cancer. It is important to consult with a medical professional for an accurate diagnosis.
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