Far Eastern Memorial Hospital

Vulvar cancer can be treated with surgery, radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy. Recurrence of vulvar cancer generally can be detected by imaging study. Currently, there is a paucity of sensitive marker to detect the recurrence of vulvar cancer. G9a is a recently identified protein with histone lysine methyltransferase activity. The role of histone methyltransferases in promoting tumorigenesis and progression of human cancers has been noted in some cancers, such as ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer and cervical cancer. The role of G9a protein in vulvar cancer remains obscure.

All female patients with vulvar cancer or vulvar intraepithelial neoplasm II /III who underwent surgery at Far Eastern Memorial Hospital from January 2003 will be included. All patients' clinical characteristerics including age, stage, pathologic finding, and follow-up data will be recorded from chart review.

The archived specimens will be used for immunohistochemical staining of G9a protein. Tumor size, local invasion, lymph node metastasis, and final disease stage will be determined. Correlation will be performed between G9a and clinical outcome of vulvar cancer.