Some conditions such as lichen sclerosus, squamous dysplasia or chronic vulvar itching may precede cancer. In younger women affected with vulvar cancer, risk factors include low socioeconomic status, multiple sexual partners, cigarette use and cervical cancer.[9] Patients that are infected with HIV tend to be more susceptible to vulvar cancer as well. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is associated with vulvar cancer.[19]