Perineural invasion correlates with common pathological variables and clinical outcomes of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva treated with primary radical surgery and inguinal-femoral lymphadenectomy

Background/Aim: The aims of the study were: i) to assess the incidence of perineural invasion (PNI) in squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva and ii) to correlate PNI with common pathological prognostic variables and clinical outcome of patients. Patients and Methods: The hospital records of 64 patients with vulvar squamous cell carcinoma who underwent primary radical surgery were reviewed. Results: PNI was significantly related to stage (p=0.038), size (p=0.038), lymph-vascular space involvement (p=0.013) and nodal status (p=0.038), but not to patient age, tumor grade and stromal invasion. Five-year disease-free survival was 30.0% in patients with PNI and 53.1% in those without PNI (p=0.018), and the corresponding 5-year overall survival was 50.0% and 77.1% (p=0.031), respectively. Conclusion: PNI was associated with common pathological prognostic variables and with a poorer clinical outcome in patients with vulvar squamous cell carcinoma