Survival
Survival depends on many factors. No one can tell you exactly how long you will live.
These are general statistics based on large groups of people. Remember, they can’t tell you what will happen in your individual case.
Survival by each stage
There are no UK-wide statistics available for vulval cancer survival by stage.
5 year survival statistics are available for some stages of vulval cancer in England. These figures are for people diagnosed between 2013 and 2017. These 5 year statistics are non-age-standardised which means they don't take into account the age of the women with vulval cancer.
Stage 1
Around 80 out of every 100 women with stage 1 vulval cancer (around 80%) will survive for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.
Stage 2
Around 50 out of every 100 women with stage 2 vulval cancer (around 50%) will survive for 5 years or more.
Stage 3
Around 40 out of every 100 women with stage 3 vulval cancer (around 40%) will survive for 5 years or more after diagnosis.
Stage 4
The Office for National Statistics doesn't provide 5 year survival statistics for vulval cancer. The following statistics are for 1 year survival for people with stage 4 vulval cancer.
(Please remember, this doesn't mean you will only live 1 year. It relates to the number of people who are still alive 1 year after their diagnosis of cancer. Some of these people will live much longer than 1 year.)
More than 40 out of 100 people with stage 4 vulval cancer (more than 40%) will survive their cancer for 1 year or more after their diagnosis.
Cancer survival by stage at diagnosis for England, 2019
Office for National Statistics
These statistics are for net survival. Net survival estimates the number of people who survive their cancer rather than calculating the number of people diagnosed with cancer who are still alive. In other words, it is the survival of cancer patients after taking into account that some people would have died from other causes if they had not had cancer.
These 5 year statistics don’t take into account the age of the people with vulval cancer. Statistics that do take into account the age (age-standardised statistics) are not available.
Without age standardisation, the survival differences between the 4 stage groups can be influenced by the age of the people in each stage group, in addition to their disease progression or treatment.
We should not use these non age-standardised figures to compare survival with other groups, such as different cancer types, stages, or populations from other countries.
Survival for all stages
Generally, for women with vulval cancer in England:
- around 85 out of 100 women (around 85%) will survive their cancer for 1 year or more after diagnosis
- more than 65 out of 100 women (more than 65%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after diagnosis
Cancer survival by stage at diagnosis for England, 2019
Office for National Statistics
These statistics are for women diagnosed with vulval cancer between 2013 and 2017.
These statistics are for net survival. Net survival estimates the number of people who survive their cancer rather than calculating the number of people diagnosed with cancer who are still alive. In other words, it is the survival of cancer patients after taking into account the background mortality that they would have experienced if they had not had cancer.
Melanoma of the vulva
Melanoma of the vulva is very rare so it is difficult to find statistics for survival.
An American study (2007) looked at 3 groups of patients. Please be aware that due to differences in health care systems, data collection and the population, these figures may not be a true picture of survival in the UK.
Localised disease
Around 75 out of every 100 women with localised vulval melanoma (around 75%) survived their disease for 5 years or more.
Localised disease has not spread beyond where it started.
Regional disease
Around 40 out of every 100 women with regional disease (around 40%) survived their disease for 5 years or more.
Regional melanoma has spread to lymph nodes.
Distant disease
More than 20 out of every 100 women with advanced vulval melanoma (more than 20%) survived their disease for 5 years or more.
Distant disease is melanoma that had spread to other body organs.
Vulvar melanoma: a multivariable analysis of 644 patients
V Sugiyama and others
Obstetrics and gynaecology, 2007. Vol 2, Part 1, Pages 296-301
About these statistics
The term 5 year survival doesn't mean you will only live for 5 years. It relates to the number of people who live 5 years or more after their diagnosis of cancer.
What affects survival
Your outcome depends on the stage of the cancer when it was diagnosed. This means how big it is and whether it has spread.
The type of cancer and grade of the cancer cells can also affect your likely survival. Grade means how abnormal the cells look under the microscope.
