Treatment for vulval cancer
Chemotherapy uses anti cancer (cytotoxic) drugs to destroy cancer cells. The drugs circulate throughout the body in the bloodstream. For vulval cancer, you usually have chemotherapy in combination with radiotherapy. This is chemoradiotherapy.
Find out more about radiotherapy for vulval cancer
Your doctor may suggest you have chemotherapy with radiotherapy (chemoradiotherapy). You won't have chemotherapy every day when you are having radiotherapy. You usually have it at the beginning of your radiotherapy course and then once a week during radiotherapy. But there are different ways of having chemoradiotherapy. Your doctor will tell you about your exact plan.
You may also have chemotherapy:
to shrink the cancer before you have surgery. This is called neo adjuvant chemotherapy
instead of surgery if you can't have surgery for any reason
to try to control vulval cancer that has spread. This is advanced or metastatic vulval cancer
You may have one drug or a combination of drugs to treat vulval cancer. Your doctor or chemotherapy nurse will give you information about your treatment before you start.
The most common types of chemotherapy drugs are:
cisplatin
fluorouracil (5FU)
carboplatin
paclitaxel
Check the name of the chemotherapy treatment with your doctor or nurse, then find out about it on our A to Z list of cancer drugs.
You have treatment through a thin short tube (a cannula) that goes into a vein in your arm each time you have treatment.
Or you might have treatment through a long line: a central line, a PICC line or a portacath. These are long plastic tubes that give the drug into a large vein in your chest. The tube stays in place throughout the course of treatment. This means your doctor or nurse won't have to put in a cannula every time you have treatment.
You usually have chemotherapy as cycles of treatment. This means that you have treatment and then a break to allow your body to recover.
There are different ways of having treatment. Your doctor and chemotherapy nurse can tell you exactly what will happen.
You usually have treatment into your bloodstream at the cancer day clinic. You might sit in a chair for a few hours so it’s a good idea to take things in to do. For example, newspapers, books or electronic devices can all help to pass the time. You can usually bring a friend or family member with you.
You have some types of chemotherapy over several days. You might be able to have some drugs through a small portable pump that you take home.
For some types of chemotherapy you have to stay in a hospital ward. This could be overnight or for a couple of days.
Some hospitals may give certain chemotherapy treatments to you at home. Your doctor or nurse can tell you more about this.
Watch the video below about what happens when you have chemotherapy. It is almost 3 minutes long.
You need to have blood tests to make sure it’s safe to start treatment. You usually have these a few days before or on the day you start treatment. You have blood tests before each round or cycle of treatment.
Your blood cells need to recover from your last treatment before you have more chemotherapy. Sometimes your blood counts are not high enough to have chemotherapy. If this happens, your doctor usually delays your next treatment. They will tell you when to repeat the blood test.
Between 2 and 8 out of 100 people (2 to 8%) have low levels of an enzyme called dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) in their bodies. A lack of DPD can mean you’re more likely to have severe side effects from capecitabine or fluorouracil. It might take you a bit longer to recover from the chemotherapy. These side effects can rarely be life threatening.
Before starting treatment with capecitabine or fluorouracil you have a blood test to check levels of DPD. So you may start treatment with a lower amount (dose) of the drug or have a different treatment. Your doctor or nurse will talk to you about this.
Common chemotherapy side effects include:
feeling sick
loss of appetite
losing weight
feeling very tired
increased risk of getting an infection
bleeding and bruising easily
diarrhoea or constipation
hair loss
Side effects depend on:
which drugs you have
how much of each drug you have
how you react
Tell your treatment team about any side effects that you have.
Most side effects only last for a few days or so. Your treatment team can help to manage any side effects that you have.
If you have not yet had your menopause, it is important to know that chemotherapy can affect your ovaries. You may not be able to become pregnant after this type of treatment and may have an early menopause. You can have HRT for menopausal symptoms if you've had vulval cancer.
Find out about early menopause
Let your doctors know if you:
take any supplements
have been prescribed anything by alternative or complementary therapy practitioners
It’s unclear how some nutritional or herbal supplements might interact with chemotherapy. Some could be harmful.
Read about the safety of complementary and alternative therapies
Chemotherapy for vulval cancer can be difficult to cope with. Tell your doctor or nurse about any problems or side effects that you have. The nurse will give you telephone numbers to call if you have any problems at home.
Last reviewed: 11 Sept 2025
Next review due: 11 Sept 2028
Radiotherapy is a possible treatment for vulval cancer. It uses high energy waves similar to x-rays to kill cancer cells.
Surgery is the main treatment for vulval cancer. The type of surgery you need depends on where the cancer is in your vulva.
After treatment for vulval cancer, you might have follow up appointments every 3 months. This is usually at the hospital with your doctor or specialist nurse (CNS).
Advice and support is available to help you cope with vulval cancer and its treatment.
The main treatments for vulval cancer are surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Vulval cancer is a rare cancer. It can start in any part of the female external sex organs, the vulva. The treatment you need depends on how big the cancer is and whether it has spread.
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