Carcinomas and sarcomas of Bartholin gland. A report of nine cases and review of the literature

The greater vestibular gland, also called Bartholin‘s gland after the Danish anatomist Caspar Bartholin the Younger who first described it in the 17th century, is the site of tumours arising from different types of epithelium and characterized by a different clinical course. In the years 1980-2009, 1,296 patients with vulvar carcinoma were treated at the Oncology Centre in Warsaw, Poland and nine of them had carcinoma of Bartholin’s gland, including three patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), three patients with adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) and three patients with sarcoma. In this paper the authors present the signs and symptoms, clinical course, treatment outcomes, and recurrence of these three malignant tumours of different histopathology. Own observations and evaluation of treatment results are compared with published reports from other centres. Interestingly, there is no consensus regarding diagnostic criteria or a uniform approach to management. Relatively poor knowledge of malignant tumours of Bartholin’s gland seems to be responsible for delays in proper diagnosis and hence optimal management. When instituted, the treatment is usually aggressive and involves adjuvant radio- and chemotherapy, while the chances of longer disease-free survival after treatment may be compromised. Conclusion: Bartholin sarcomas grow fast and invasive, SCC, and ACC infiltrate slowly and systematic. All types are curable at high interest rates if they are originally from the surgically removed lymph nodes on both sides and irradiated.

Squamous cell carcinoma of Bartholin’s gland; Malignant tumours of Bartholin’s gland; Vulvar carcinoma; Adenoid cys-tic carcinoma; Leiomyosarcoma of Bartholin’s gland.

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