"Unresectable" vulval cancers: is neoadjuvant chemotherapy the way forward?

Squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva is an uncommon gynaecological malignancy, but the incidence is increasing. A significant proportion of patients present with locally advanced disease, and management can prove challenging because of the size and/or location of the tumour. Surgery forms the mainstay of treatment, but the role of neoadjuvant therapy in minimizing morbidity is under investigation. Although chemotherapy alone has been largely neglected in favour of chemoradiotherapy, concerns about the toxicity of trimodality therapy and suboptimal results, particularly in node-positive patients, have led to renewed interest in neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). A review of the available literature illustrates that NACT can produce dramatic responses, but operability rates and overall survival differ widely. The effect is dependent on as yet unidentified factors, although we speculate that age and tumour biology are important. Further work is required to delineate the optimal NACT regimen and the patient population(s) most likely to benefit from this practice.