Vaginal cancer is a rare variant of gynecological cancers that affects the cells lining the surface of the vagina. While several types of cancer can spread to your vagina from other parts of the body, cancer that begins in your vagina (primary vaginal cancer) is rare.
Vaginal cancer usually develops slowly over time. It begins when healthy cells in the vagina start mutating or changing. Such mutations cause these cells to grow rapidly and prevent cell death. The accumulation of these abnormal cells forms a malignant mass or tumour. Often, the cancer cells invade nearby tissues and may break off from a tumour to spread or metastasize to other parts of the body.