Aldara Treatment for Vulvar Dysplasia

Vulvar dysplasia rarely develops into cancer. Most women who exhibit precancerous lesions are unaware that they may be a candidate for cancer later in life. Vulvar dysplasia that has the potential to become cancerous is more often than not linked to human papilloma virus (HPV). Like its also rare sister cervical cancer, vulvar dysplasia often is diagnosed after a Pap smear and can affect a woman's self-esteem. Many women with vulvar dysplasia do not enjoy sex.

What Is Vulvar Dysplasia?

• Vulvar dysplasia is an "abnormal growth of cells on the surface of the vulva," as defined by the National Cancer Institute. Many women and men have no idea where the vulva is located. For years, we all have been taught that a female's private part is her vagina, when in fact the vulva is the correct word for that complex series of nerves and tissue.

  Vulvar dysplasia usually is diagnosed during a routine Pap smear. It also may be found with a Pap smear performed because a woman experiences intense itching and suffers pain during sexual intercourse. To rule out cancer, most gynecologists recommend a biopsy. About 1 percent of all females with precancerous lesions and who test positive for HPV will develop Vulvar Intraepithelial Neoplasia (VIN) or cancer if the lesions aren't treated.

Laser And Surgical Treatment

• Once a diagnosis of VIN has been determined, the patient and doctor must arrive at an agreed upon treatment. The commonly accepted treatment, until recently, consisted of either laser or surgical removal of the lesions. Both of these treatments yield scars, and neither treatment can guarantee complete removal of the thickened, abnormal nuclear changes in the vulvar region.

Aldara: A New Alternative

• Aldara, also known as Imiquimod, is a new treatment touted by researchers as a first-treatment-of-choice option for women recently diagnosed with VIN. Not only did its initial, double-blind trial, albeit a small trial of only 52 women, produce significant positive results, but the use of Aldara also limited the amount of pain and scarring that typically occurs with the two standard treatments. Aldara is a cream that is applied twice weekly for 16 weeks by the patient in the comfort and privacy of her own home.

  Aldara stimulates the immune system, encouraging it to kill abnormal cells. Researchers found that Aldara shrunk or eliminated lesions in its clinical trial. Of the nine women who no longer had lesions after using Aldara in the trial, each still had no lesions 12 months later.