Primary squamous cell carcinoma in a patient with vaginal agenesis

Background. The development of a carcinoma in a neovagina constructed in pa tients with congenital vaginal agenesis is rare. Case. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a squamous cell carcino ma developing in a neovagina that had been constructed by a simple cleavage technique without tissue transplantation. The latency period between recon struction and tumor diagnosis was 20 years, during which the patient regula rly used a prosthesis. The most important observation during this time was the repeated formation of granulation tissue and chronic inflammatory pseud opolyps in the neovagina, which were removed by cauterization. Despite pre- and intraoperative irradiation and radical surgery followed by chemotherap y, the prognosis is poor. Conclusion. Patients with neovaginas, whatever the construction technique, need to be followed up regularly, as mechanical irritation from a prosthesi s can add to other cancer risk factors, such as viral infection. Furthermor e, the absence of transplanted tissue does not seem to protect from the ris k. (C) 1999 Academic Press.