Squamous cell carcinoma

Nine out of ten (90%) of cancers of the vulva develop from squamous cells in the outer layer of the vulva. Squamous cell cancers usually grow very slowly over a few years.

Vulval melanoma

Melanomas develop from the pigment-producing cells that give the skin its colour. Vulval melanoma is the second most common type of vulval cancer, but is much less common than the squamous cell type. Only about 4 out of every 100 (4%) vulval cancers are melanoma.

Adenocarcinoma

These are very rare. Adenocarcinoma of the vulva develops from cells that line glands in the vulval skin. Paget’s disease of the vulva is a condition where adenocarcinoma cells spread out from these glands and across the skin of the vulva.

Verrucous carcinoma

Verrucous carcinoma is a rare, very slow-growing type which looks like a large wart.

Sarcomas

Sarcomas of the vulva are extremely rare. Sarcomas develop from cells in tissue such as muscle or fat under the skin. They tend to grow more quickly than other types of cancer. Several different types of sarcoma can affect the vulva, including:

• leiomyosarcomas and rhabdomyosarcomas (which develop from muscle cells)
• angiosarcomas (from blood vessels)
• neurofibrosarcomas (from nerve cells)
• epithelioid sarcomas (from cells in the skin).