Treatment of vulvar melanoma

Treatment options depend on how deeply the melanoma has grown into the skin of the vulva. If the depth is less than 0.75 mm, partial vulvectomy leaving 2 cm (about ¾ inch) margins is the usual treatment. Radical vulvectomy may rarely be used when the lesion extensively involves the vulva. Often, lymph nodes in the groin will be sampled or a sentinel node biopsy procedure will be done to fully stage the cancer. The stage helps predict the outlook for survival and is needed to decide if other treatment is needed.