The prognostic role of FIGO stage in patients with vulvar cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: To perform a meta-analysis examining the survival of patients with vulvar cancer based on the 2009 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) staging system. Methods: Medline, PubMed, and Cochrane databases were searched until 20 March 2015 for prospective or retrospective studies using the terms vulvar cancer, prognostic/prognosis, survival, recurrence, lymph nodes (LNs), inguinal lymphadenectomy/excision, and staging. The primary outcome was 5 year overall survival (OS), and secondary outcomes were 5 year disease-free survival (DFS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Results: Fourteen retrospective studies were included. The 5 year OS rate decreased with increasing 2009 FIGO stage and number of LN metastasis. FIGO stage I, II, III, and IV patients had 5 year OS rates of 84.0%, 74.6%, 47.8%, and 9.4%, respectively. Pooled estimates showed that the 5 year OS was 84.5% for patients without LN metastasis, and for patients with ≥3 LN metastases the 5 year OS rate was 30.1%. Similarly, the overall 5 year DFS and PFS decreased with the increasing number of LN metastases. The 5 year DFS rate was 87.2% for patients with no LN metastasis and for patients with ≥3 LN metastases was 35.4%. The 5 year PFS rate was 86.6% for patients with no LN metastasis and for patients with ≥3 LN metastases was 27.6%. Limitations: All studies were retrospective studies. DFS and PFS rates in patients with different 2009 FIGO stages and with different mean tumor sizes were not examined due to a limited number of reports. Conclusions: More advanced 2009 FIGO stage and greater number of LN metastases are associated with worse outcomes in patients with vulvar cancer.