ABSTRACT
Vaginal carcinoma has often been diagnosed at the same time as carcinomas of the vulva and cervix. Clear cell carcinomas of the vagina and cervix in women in their late teens and early twenties had rarely been recorded in the published medical literature before 1970. In 1970 and 1971, seven cases of clear cell carcinoma of the vagina and one case of the closely related endometrioid carcinoma were reported from Boston among women whose ages ranged from 15 to 22 years. Invasive cancer of the vulva occurs primarily among older women. The etiology of cancer of the vulva is unknown. Most reports present characteristics of women with invasive cancer of the vulva who were admitted to certain hospitals over a period of time. Several investigators have noted that approximately 15 to 20% of women with vulvar cancer have a second primary cancer occurring either simultaneously or nonsimultaneously, particularly in the cervix, vagina, or anogenital area.
