The doctors have identified some risk factors of vaginal cancer that may turn out to be the cancer in some situations .Here is the list of causes and risk factors of vaginal cancer:

Age: The vaginal cancer is more common in the women over 60 in comparison to other .It is shown in a study that in almost 10 cases of vaginal cancer  7 cases are the women of over 60 ;it means almost 60% of its risk is diverted to older women.

Other medical conditions:

• Some women have pre-cancerous changes in either vagina (vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia – VAIN) or cervix. (Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia – CIN); so if these changes are not properly treated may lead to increase the growth of vaginal cancerous cells in the patient.
• If a woman encountered with Cervical cancer then chances of Vagina cancer boost up.
• The woman who has HIV or AIDS is more likely to be affected by vaginal cancer.

Other factors and causes:

There are some other factors and causes due to which risk of Vaginal cancer in women becomes more significant.

• A woman who has undergone the treatment of womb cancer is likely to develop the cancerous cells of vagina in some cases.
• Smoking is also a cause of this cancer. It is shown in a study that when a women is smoking during pregnancy then this may lead to cancerous cell growth,
• The exposure to DES (diethylstilbestrol), it is a drug prescribed by doctors when a woman has high risk of miscarriage, may become a cause of Vagina cancer.
• A virus named as human papilloma virus (HPV) is also increase the risk of vagina cancer development in a woman.

The causes behind this type of cancer are unknown however it is known that it cannot be passed onto others. The typical symptoms are bleeding from the vagina, pain and problems with passing urine, although it should be noted these symptoms could relate to other conditions so consulting a doctor is always advised.

To diagnose the problem doctors typically use the following tests: A full internal vaginal exam, which involves a specialist examining the entire vagina for swellings or lumps. A cervical smear test maybe used to examine the cells of the cervix and a colposcopy maybe used in which a small microscope is used to examine the vagina more fully.

After these tests it could be found that is not cancer at all and is simply another condition that is less life threatening such as something known as VAIN, which is a non-cancerous skin condition. However if it is found to be cancer then CT scans, an MRI and blood tests will be used to ascertain whether the cancer has spread further into the body to grade it depending on how advanced it is. Treatment depends on various medical factors such as age and health.

The most common treatment for this type of cancer is radiotherapy using high energy radiation rays to destroy the cancerous cells with as little damage to the surrounding healthy cells as possible. Due to the nature of radiotherapy it may create various side effects such as dry and itchy skin. Surgery may also be used to remove the cancer.