ABSTRACT

Vulva and vagina cancers are seen at a very low rate among gynecological malignancies. They mostly appear in the postmenopausal period and in advanced age. Although many subtypes have been associated with HPV, there is no standard screening test and patients are usually diagnosed when become symptomatic. Staging is important for the treatment plan. Surgery is the first choice in the early stage, but combinations of chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy are used in locally advanced and metastatic diseases. F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computerized tomography (PET/CT) not only detects the primary tumor, but also it is quite successful in showing lymph nodes and distant metastasis compared to other imaging methods. PET positivity can completely change the treatment decision be guided to primary chemoradiotherapy by avoiding surgery if positive nodes are detected due to its high specificity. However, false positive findings should not be ignored. Also, there are relatively rare studies in two groups of cancer, it is seen that more studies are needed in especially vaginal cancers. In this review, the contributions of PET/CT in the imaging of vulvar and vaginal cancers will be discussed.