Objectives
Primary carcinoma of the Bartholin's gland is a rare malignancy that accounts for approximately 5% of vulvar carcinomas. The objective of this study was to compare the outcomes of women with primary Bartholin's gland carcinoma to those with non-Bartholin's gland related vulvar carcinoma.
Methods/Materials
A retrospective chart review of 429 patients with invasive vulvar carcinoma evaluated at a single institution between 1993 and 2011 was performed. Medical records were reviewed for demographic data, pathologic information, treatment type, and recurrence/outcome information. These variables were compared between patients with primary Bartholin's gland carcinoma and patients with non-Bartholin's gland related vulvar carcinoma.
Results
Thirty-three (7.7%) of the 429 patients with invasive vulvar carcinoma had primary carcinoma of the Bartholin's gland. Twenty-nine patients (87.9%) had squamous cell histology and four (12.1%) had adenocarcinoma. When compared with non-Bartholin's gland related vulvar carcinoma, patients with primary Bartholin's gland carcinoma had a younger age at diagnosis (median 57 vs. 63 years, p=0.045), higher rate of stage III/IV disease (60.6% vs. 35.8%, p=0.008), and were more likely to receive radiation therapy (78.8% vs. 43.9%, p<0.001). However, there were no significant differences between the two groups with regards to histologic subtype, lymphovascular space involvement, perineural invasion, positive margins, recurrence-free survival, or overall survival.
Conclusions
Despite being diagnosed at a more advanced stage, patients with primary carcinoma of the Bartholin's gland appear to have similar oncologic outcomes and survival rates to patients with non-Bartholin's gland related vulvar carcinoma.
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