Objectives: To report the clinical and pathologic features and to evaluate the treatment results of 7 cases of sweat gland carcinoma of the vulva.
Methods: The clinical records of the 7 cases of sweat gland carcinoma of the vulva, admitted to our hospital for treatment between December, 1974 and December, 1994, were reviewed. The data including clinical and pathologic features, treatments and posttreatment follow-ups. Five of the 7 cases were referred from other hospitals, 4 followed by local resection and 1 with recurrence 7 years after surgery.
Results: 5/7 of the cases were alive for more than 5 years. One of the 5 cases recurred twice at 7 and 11 years after the initial treatment and each time remedied by radiotherapy, but eventually died of tumor with pulmonary metastasis at the 17th year. Two died within 5 years after treatment; one from cerebral hemorrhage and the other from extensive cancer metastasis 1 year and 9 months after surgery.
Conclusions: The prognosis of sweat gland carcinoma of the vulva is fairly good. Wide local resection of the vulva or radical vulvectomy is the treatment of choice.