Spectrum of vulvar lesions: patient’s anxiety, clinician’s concern and pathologist’s diagnostic challenge

Abstract

A wide variety of lesions occur on the vulva. Some of the disorders causing these lesions are limited to the vulva; while others also involve skin or mucocutaneous membranes elsewhere on the body. The vulva is sensitive to both physiologic and pathologic changes, as well as to the sex hormones. Hence in addition to hormone related changes, vulvar skin is known to show various dermatological manifestations, sexually transmitted diseases, precursor lesions and malignancies. There is virtually no form of dermatitis that has not been reported to involve the vulva. Classification of inflammatory dermatoses of the vulva uses the same terminology applied to dermatoses affecting nonvulvar skin. Lichen Sclerosus (LS) is a common chronic inflammatory dermatosis that frequently involves the vulva and can cause considerable tissue destruction. It is occasionally associated with vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) of the differentiated type and invasive squamous cell carcinoma. Apart from these lesions, variety of cystic lesions and benign tumors also occur ABSTRACT