Vaginal cancer

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Definition

Vaginal cancer is a rare cancer that occurs in your vagina — the muscular tube that connects your uterus with your outer genitals. Vaginal cancer most commonly occurs in the cells that line the surface of your vagina, which is sometimes called the birth canal.

While several cancers can spread to your vagina from other places in your body, cancer that begins in your vagina (primary vaginal cancer) is rare. Vaginal cancer comprises only 2 to 3 percent of gynecologic cancers. About 2,400 women are diagnosed with vaginal cancer each year in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society.

Women with early-stage vaginal cancer have the best chance for a cure. Vaginal cancer that spreads beyond the vagina is much more difficult to treat.

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Symptoms