Prevalence of prescribing topical corticosteroids to patients with lichen sclerosus following surgery for vulvar cancer: a survey among gynaecologic oncologists in The Netherlands

Figures & data

Table 1. Characteristics of gynaecologic oncologists completing survey (n = 44).

	Median (range)	n	(%)
Age	49.5 (34 - 67)
Sex
Female		29	(66)
Male		15	(34)
PhD degree
No		3	(7)
Yes		41	(93)
Years of experience	10.5 (0 - 38)
Specific interest in vulvar carcinoma
No		20	(45)
Yes		24	(55)
Centre currently employed
Academic		35	(80)
Non-academic		9	(20)
Number of LS^noVSCC patients treated per year
<20		22	(50)
≥20		22	(50)
Number of LS^VSCC patients treated per year
<20		25	(57)
≥20		19	(43)

LS: lichen sclerosus; LS^noVSCC: LS without a history of vulvar cancer; LS^VSCC: LS following surgery for vulvar cancer

Figure 1. Prescription behaviour of gynaecologic oncologists (GOs) for patients with lichen sclerosus without a history of vulvar cancer (LS^noVSCC) versus patients with lichen sclerosus following surgery for vulvar cancer (LS^VSCC); (A) Frequency of prescribing topical corticosteroids (TCS), (B) type of TCS prescribed and (C) duration of TCS treatment. Class IV, ultra-potent TCS; Class III, potent TCS; Class II, moderately potent TCS; Class I, mildly potent TCS.

Table 2. Frequency, potency and duration of corticosteroid treatment prescribed by gynaecologic oncologists (GOs) in patients with lichen sclerosus (LS) without a history of vulvar cancer (LS^noVSCC) and patients with LS following surgery for vulvar cancer (LS^VSCC).

	LS^noVSCC		LS^VSCC		p Value*
	n	(%)	n	(%)
Frequency
Always	18	(41)	8	(18)	<0.001
Almost always	20	(45)	15	(34)
Often	5	(11)	15	(34)
Sometimes	1	(2)	5	(11)
Never	0	(0)	1	(2)
Potency of corticosteroids
Class IV (ultra-potent)	35	(80)	37	(84)	0.625
Class III (potent)	7	(16)	5	(11)
Class II (moderate)	0	(0)	0	(0)
Class I (mild)	0	(0)	0	(0)
Not answered	2	(5)	2	(5)
Duration of treatment
Indefinitely	26	(59)	31	(68)	0.180
1–2 years	3	(7)	1	(2)
3 months−1 year	3	(7)	4	(9)
<3 months	3	(7)	2	(5)
Other	5	(11)	4	(11)
Not answered	4	(9)	2	(5)

* Categorical outcome variables were transformed to binary data to perform McNemar test on paired responses for LS^noVSCC and LS^VSCC patients. For frequency data, ‘Always’ and ‘Almost always’ were combined versus other frequencies. For potency data, McNemar test was performed on ‘Class IV (ultra-potent)’ versus other potencies, and for duration data this was performed on ‘Indefinitely’ versus other durations.

Table 3. Reported reasons for treating patients with lichen sclerosus (LS) without a history of vulvar cancer (LS^noVSCC) and patients with LS following surgery for vulvar cancer (LS^VSCC) with topical corticosteroids (TCS).

	LS^noVSCC		LS^VSCC
	n	(%)	n	(%)
Symptoms	37	(84)	30	(68)
Clinical aspects of lesion	22	(50)	19	(43)
Prevention (recurrent) dVIN/VSCC	7	(16)	13	(30)
Not answered	0	(0)	3	(7)

Participants (n = 44) could give multiple answers.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available upon reasonable request.