Our Health Library information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Please be advised that this information is made available to assist our patients to learn more about their health. Our providers may not see and/or treat all topics found herein. This information is produced and provided by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The information in this topic may have changed since it was written. For the most current information, contact the National Cancer Institute via the Internet web site at http://cancer.gov or call 1-800-4-CANCER. Adenocarcinoma of the cervix and vagina is rare in childhood and adolescence.[1,2] Two-thirds of cases in previous reports have been associated with exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES) in utero.[3] However, the few case reports of vaginal cancer in children in the last decade have not been associated with exposure to DES in utero.[4] The median age at presentation is 15 years, with a range of 7 months to 18 years. Most patients present with vaginal bleeding. Adults with adenocarcinoma of the cervix or vagina will present with stage I or stage II disease 90% of the time.[1] In children and adolescents, there is a high incidence of stage III and stage IV disease (24%). This difference may be explained by the practice of routine pelvic examinations in adults and the hesitancy to perform pelvic exams in children. References: The Fédération Internationale de Gynécologie et d'Obstétrique (FIGO) system is used to stage cervical and vaginal cancer. For more information, see the Staging Information for Cervical Cancer section in Cervical Cancer Treatment and the Staging Information for Vaginal Cancer section in Vaginal Cancer Treatment. Treatment options for childhood carcinoma of the cervix and vagina include the following: The treatment of choice is surgical resection,[1] followed by radiation therapy for residual microscopic disease or lymphatic metastases. The role of chemotherapy in management is unknown, although drugs commonly used in the treatment of gynecological malignancies, such as carboplatin and paclitaxel, have been used.[2] In a retrospective report, 37 patients with cervical clear cell adenocarcinoma or cervical mesonephric adenocarcinoma were treated with various modalities (surgery, radiation therapy, and/or chemotherapy). The 3-year event-free survival rate was 71% (± 11%) for patients with all stages of tumors, 82% (± 11%) for patients with stage I and stage II tumors, and 57% (± 22%) for patients with stage III and stage IV tumors.[3] References: Information about National Cancer Institute (NCI)–supported clinical trials can be found on the NCI website. For information about clinical trials sponsored by other organizations, see the ClinicalTrials.gov website. The following is an example of a national and/or institutional clinical trial that is currently being conducted: Patients with tumors that have molecular variants addressed by open treatment arms in the trial may be enrolled in treatment on Pediatric MATCH. Additional information can be obtained on the NCI website and ClinicalTrials.gov website. Cancer in children and adolescents is rare, although the overall incidence has been slowly increasing since 1975.[1] Referral to medical centers with multidisciplinary teams of cancer specialists experienced in treating cancers that occur in childhood and adolescence should be considered. This multidisciplinary team approach incorporates the skills of the following health care professionals and others to ensure that children receive treatment, supportive care, and rehabilitation that will achieve optimal survival and quality of life: For information about supportive care for children and adolescents with cancer, see the summaries on Supportive and Palliative Care. The American Academy of Pediatrics has outlined guidelines for pediatric cancer centers and their role in the treatment of pediatric patients with cancer.[2] At these pediatric cancer centers, clinical trials are available for most types of cancer that occur in children and adolescents, and the opportunity to participate is offered to most patients and their families. Clinical trials for children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer are generally designed to compare potentially better therapy with current standard therapy. Most of the progress made in identifying curative therapy for childhood cancers has been achieved through clinical trials. Information about ongoing clinical trials is available from the NCI website. Dramatic improvements in survival have been achieved for children and adolescents with cancer. Between 1975 and 2020, childhood cancer mortality decreased by more than 50%.[3,4,5] Childhood and adolescent cancer survivors require close monitoring because side effects of cancer therapy may persist or develop months or years after treatment. For information about the incidence, type, and monitoring of late effects in childhood and adolescent cancer survivors, see Late Effects of Treatment for Childhood Cancer. Childhood cancer is a rare disease, with about 15,000 cases diagnosed annually in the United States in individuals younger than 20 years.[6] The U.S. Rare Diseases Act of 2002 defines a rare disease as one that affects populations smaller than 200,000 people. Therefore, all pediatric cancers are considered rare. The designation of a rare tumor is not uniform among pediatric and adult groups. In adults, rare cancers are defined as those with an annual incidence of fewer than six cases per 100,000 people. They account for up to 24% of all cancers diagnosed in the European Union and about 20% of all cancers diagnosed in the United States.[7,8] Also, the designation of a pediatric rare tumor is not uniform among international groups, as follows: Most cancers in subgroup XI are either melanomas or thyroid cancers, with other cancer types accounting for only 2% of the cancers in children aged 0 to 14 years and 9.3% of the cancers in adolescents aged 15 to 19 years. These rare cancers are extremely challenging to study because of the low number of patients with any individual diagnosis, the predominance of rare cancers in the adolescent population, and the lack of clinical trials for adolescents with rare cancers. Information about these tumors may also be found in sources relevant to adults with cancer, such as Cervical Cancer Treatment and Vaginal Cancer Treatment. References: The PDQ cancer information summaries are reviewed regularly and updated as new information becomes available. This section describes the latest changes made to this summary as of the date above. Stage Information for Cervical and Vaginal Cancer Added this new section. Special Considerations for the Treatment of Children With Cancer Revised text to state that between 1975 and 2020, childhood cancer mortality decreased by more than 50% (cited National Cancer Institute as reference 4 and Surveillance Research Program, National Cancer Institute as reference 5). Revised text to state that rare pediatric cancers account for about 5% of the cancers diagnosed in children aged 0 to 14 years and about 27% of the cancers diagnosed in adolescents aged 15 to 19 years. Also revised text to state that most cancers in subgroup XI are either melanomas or thyroid cancers, with other cancer types accounting for only 2% of the cancers in children aged 0 to 14 years and 9.3% of cancers in adolescents aged 15 to 19 years. This summary is written and maintained by the PDQ Pediatric Treatment Editorial Board, which is editorially independent of NCI. The summary reflects an independent review of the literature and does not represent a policy statement of NCI or NIH. More information about summary policies and the role of the PDQ Editorial Boards in maintaining the PDQ summaries can be found on the About This PDQ Summary and PDQ® Cancer Information for Health Professionals pages. Purpose of This Summary This PDQ cancer information summary for health professionals provides comprehensive, peer-reviewed, evidence-based information about the treatment of pediatric cervical and vaginal cancer. It is intended as a resource to inform and assist clinicians in the care of their patients. It does not provide formal guidelines or recommendations for making health care decisions. Reviewers and Updates This summary is reviewed regularly and updated as necessary by the PDQ Pediatric Treatment Editorial Board, which is editorially independent of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The summary reflects an independent review of the literature and does not represent a policy statement of NCI or the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Board members review recently published articles each month to determine whether an article should: Changes to the summaries are made through a consensus process in which Board members evaluate the strength of the evidence in the published articles and determine how the article should be included in the summary. The lead reviewers for Childhood Cervical and Vaginal Cancer Treatment are: Any comments or questions about the summary content should be submitted to Cancer.gov through the NCI website's Email Us. Do not contact the individual Board Members with questions or comments about the summaries. Board members will not respond to individual inquiries. Levels of Evidence Some of the reference citations in this summary are accompanied by a level-of-evidence designation. These designations are intended to help readers assess the strength of the evidence supporting the use of specific interventions or approaches. The PDQ Pediatric Treatment Editorial Board uses a formal evidence ranking system in developing its level-of-evidence designations. Permission to Use This Summary PDQ is a registered trademark. Although the content of PDQ documents can be used freely as text, it cannot be identified as an NCI PDQ cancer information summary unless it is presented in its entirety and is regularly updated. However, an author would be permitted to write a sentence such as "NCI's PDQ cancer information summary about breast cancer prevention states the risks succinctly: [include excerpt from the summary]." The preferred citation for this PDQ summary is: PDQ® Pediatric Treatment Editorial Board. PDQ Childhood Cervical and Vaginal Cancer Treatment. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute. Updated <MM/DD/YYYY>. Available at: https://www.cancer.gov/types/cervical/hp/child-cervical-vaginal-treatment-pdq. Accessed <MM/DD/YYYY>. Images in this summary are used with permission of the author(s), artist, and/or publisher for use within the PDQ summaries only. Permission to use images outside the context of PDQ information must be obtained from the owner(s) and cannot be granted by the National Cancer Institute. Information about using the illustrations in this summary, along with many other cancer-related images, is available in Visuals Online, a collection of over 2,000 scientific images. Disclaimer Based on the strength of the available evidence, treatment options may be described as either "standard" or "under clinical evaluation." These classifications should not be used as a basis for insurance reimbursement determinations. More information on insurance coverage is available on Cancer.gov on the Managing Cancer Care page. Contact Us More information about contacting us or receiving help with the Cancer.gov website can be found on our Contact Us for Help page. Questions can also be submitted to Cancer.gov through the website's Email Us. Last Revised: 2022-12-09 This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Learn how we develop our content. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.Topic Contents
Childhood Cervical and Vaginal Cancer Treatment (PDQ®): Treatment - Health Professional Information [NCI]
Risk Factors and Clinical Presentation
Stage Information for Cervical and Vaginal Cancer
Treatment and Outcome of Childhood Cervical and Vaginal Cancer
Treatment Options Under Clinical Evaluation for Childhood Cervical and Vaginal Cancer
Special Considerations for the Treatment of Children With Cancer
Changes to This Summary (12 / 09 / 2022)
About This PDQ Summary
Our Health Library information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Please be advised that this information is made available to assist our patients to learn more about their health. Our providers may not see and/or treat all topics found herein.Childhood Cervical and Vaginal Cancer Treatment (PDQ®): Treatment - Health Professional Information [NCI]