A review of primary vaginal carcinoma treated at the Medical University of South Carolina from January 1970 through December 1989 included 76 squamous carcinomas, 12 adenocarcinomas, and 3 undifferentiated carcinomas. Staging was done according to the system of the International Federal of Gynecology and Obstetrics as modified by Perez et al. Stages I, II, III, and IV included 25, 39, 15, and 12 patients, respectively. Corrected 5-year survival rates were 73% for stage I, 39% for stage II, 38% for stage III, and 25% for stage IV. Sixteen percent of patients had received prior pelvic radiation. Invasive cervical cancer preceded vaginal cancer in 21% of patients. Detection of cancer was accomplished by routine cytologic testing in 17% of patients, palpation of an asymptomatic mass in 10% of patients, or palpation of a symptomatic mass in 72% of patients. Eighty-seven percent of patients were treated with radiation therapy. Survival curves of patients grouped by stage and other potential prognostic factors were compared. Lower stage (p less than 0.01), younger age (p less than 0.02), and no symptoms at detection (p less than 0.01) were statistically significant favorable prognostic factors. Histologic type, extent of vaginal involvement, vaginal location, prior radiation therapy, prior cervical cancer, and prior hysterectomy are factors that did not significantly affect survival.