Incidence Trends of Vulvar Cancer in the United States - A 20-Year Population-Based Study

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Hazel

Despite its relative rarity, vulvar cancer poses a substantial public health burden, reflected by a 71% five-year relative survival rate. The study evaluates incidence rates in the United States across racial, ethnic, and histological subgroups and assesses the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on these patterns. Using the SEER 22 database, it assigns ICD-O-3 topologic code C51 and applies AAPC with confidence intervals to characterize temporal trends.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Data sources and coding approach

Abstract

Background and aims

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Cancer Reports ORIGINAL ARTICLE OPEN ACCESS Incidence Trends of Vulvar Cancer in the United States: A 20-Year Population-Based Study Seyed Ehsan Mousavi1,2 | Hoomaan Ghasemi3 | Morvarid Najafi3 | Zahra Yekta4 | Seyed Aria Nejadghaderi5,6 1Neurosciences Research Center, Aging Research Institute, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran | 2Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran | 3Center for Orthopedic TransDisciplinary Applied Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran | 4Calaveras County Department of Health, Calaveras County, California, USA | 5HIV/STI Surveillance Research Center, and WHO Collaborating Center for HIV Surveillance, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran | 6Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Expert Group (SRMEG), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran Correspondence: Seyed Ehsan Mousavi ([drehsanmousavii@gmail.com](drehsanmousavii@gmail.com); [mousavi.e@tbzmed.ac.ir](mousavi.e@tbzmed.ac.ir)) | Seyed Aria Nejadghaderi ([ariaghaderi@sbmu.ac.ir](ariaghaderi@sbmu.ac.ir); [ariang20@gmail.com](ariang20@gmail.com)) Received: 1 August 2023 | Revised: 2 May 2024 | Accepted: 21 May 2024 Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work. Keywords: cancer | epidemiology | incidence | SEER | Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results | United States | vulvar neoplasms ABSTRACT Background: Despite being uncommon, vulvar cancer is a serious health concern with a 5-year relative survival rate of 71% . Aims: The objective was to investigate the incidence rates of this disease across different racial, ethnic, and histological subgroups in the United States, as well as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on this cancer. Methods: We used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) 22 database. The International Classification of Diseases for Oncology Version 3 topologic code C51 was assigned for vulvar cancer. Average annual percent change (AAPC) and the pairwise comparison with the parallelism and coincidence were reported. Counts and age-adjusted incidence rates per 100 000 individuals with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were reported. Results: The age-adjusted incidence rate of vulvar cancer was 2.40 (95% CI, 2.38–2.43) over the period 2000–2019, with an AAPC of 0.80 (95% CI, 0.63–0.99). By race/ethnicity, only non-Hispanic Whites had an increasing trend over 2000–2019 (AAPC: 1.30; 95% CI, 1.07–1.54) . The highest age-adjusted incidence rate of vulvar cancer in the United States was for squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) . There was a significant decrease in the age-standardized incidence rate of vulvar cancer in all races/ethnicities in all age groups (AAPC: −10.15; 95% CI, −15.35 to −4.94) over 2019–2020. Also, the incidence rates and incident numbers of vulvar cancer increased with aging and peaked at the 85+ age group. Conclusion: There was an increase in the incidence rate of vulvar cancer in all races, with a significantly increased trend in nonHispanic White women from 2000 to 2019. SCC displayed the highest incidence rate among vulvar cancer histological types. It is recommended to conduct further research to identify the relevant risk factors of vulvar cancer in the United States. 1 | Introduction Vulvar cancer is a relatively uncommon gynecological neoplasm, representing approximately 5%–8% of all gynecological cancers in the United States [1] . It accounts for 0 . 6% of women's cancers in the United States and primarily affects older women [2]. Every year in the United States, there are around 6470 new cases of vulvar cancer and approximately 1670 attributable deaths, with a 5-year relative survival rate of 71%, which makes it a significant health concern [3, 4] . Almost 75% of vulvar This is an open access

FAQs

What database and diagnostic coding were used to study vulvar cancer incidence trends?

The analysis used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) 22 database. Vulvar cancer was defined using the ICD-O-3 topologic code C51.

How did vulvar cancer incidence change from 2000 to 2019 in the United States?

The age-adjusted incidence rate over 2000–2019 was 2.40 per 100,000 with an AAPC of 0.80. By race/ethnicity, only non-Hispanic Whites showed an increasing trend during this period.

What changes were observed around 2019–2020, and which histological type had the highest incidence?

A significant decrease in age-standardized incidence was reported across all races/ethnicities and age groups over 2019–2020. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) displayed the highest incidence rate among vulvar cancer histological types.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Hazel