Endometrium cancer is the most common of the types of cancer that affect the reproductive organs of women or people who were assigned to women at birth in the United States. Around 66,000 cases are diagnosed every year – and tariffs increase.
There is no single test or screening for endometrium cancer. Therefore, health service providers (HCPS) rely on many different types of tests to make a diagnosis.
Understanding endometrium cancer and diagnosis can help you know what you can expect.
What are the symptoms of endometrium cancer?
Abnormal bleeding is a main symptom for endometrium cancer. This includes:
- Vaginal bleeding between periods
- Main changes in your menstrual cycle (even during perimenopause if bleeding can be unpredictable)
- Periods that are very difficult, take a long time or often pass
- Lots of bleeding or stains after menopause
Other common symptoms are:
- Pain or cramps directly under your stomach
- Changes in your vaginal discharge
- New vaginal discharge after menopause
The society of menopause indicates that many women with endometrium cancer are not diagnosed after menopause because they do not know any bleeding – even if it only happens once – is a big red flag.
“For women after menopause, every vaginal stains, bleeding or discharge will not be automatically cancer, but guarantees a reappraisal,” said Nita Lee, MD, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Chicago.
But providers do not always tell their patients that they should look for bleeding after menopause. In a survey carried out by Menopause Society, less than half of the respondents said that their doctors had advised them on bleeding and endometrium cancer after menopause.
Even if women see a provider about irregular bleeding after menopause, they may not be checked for endometrium cancer. “Women will often introduce themselves to their doctor and say:” I have recognized this “, and the doctors will discount and say:” Oh, they have to have a urinary tract infection (Uti), “said Lee. She asks women who are of the opinion that their concerns are not taken seriously to ask for a gynecological examination or a transfer.
Who gets endometrium cancer?
Endometrium cancer is most common in women who have passed the menopause. The average age of the diagnosis is 60 years old.
Black women are diagnosed more often in more advanced stages – and die from endometrium cancer. Possible reasons for this difference are an increased probability that a rarer and more aggressive type of endometrium cancer, genetics will be diagnosed, and the fact that black women with endometrium cancer are less likely than white women. Experts are working on learning more and raising awareness of this inequality.
Read: Why do black women die endometrium cancer? >>
How is endometrium cancer diagnosed?
The path to an endometrium cancer diagnosis begins with a conversation between a patient and his HCP. It is important to share your personal and family medical history so that your provider can get a better understanding of risk factors that you may make more susceptible to endometrium cancer.
Next, your HCP conducts a physical examination. Lee said a pelvic examination was important because it enables her HCP to check things like the size of your uterus and whether the cancer has spread to the cervix or the vagina.
Your HCP also takes a detailed medical history to find out about possible risk factors, including:
- Obesity and/or metabolic syndrome
- Already existing diseases such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) associated with endometrium cancer
- Family history of gynecological (especially endometrium) cancer or certain genetic diseases such as lynch syndrome, also referred to hereditary non-polypotosis darm cancer (HNPCC).
- Hormone therapy only estrogen
- After using Tamoxifen to prevent or treat breast cancer
- Get your period at a young age and go
- Was never pregnant
What happens afterwards depends on your unique situation, but it will include at least one of these tests:
- Ultrasonic (Basin or transvaginal) that uses sound waves to search for growth (polyps) and to measure the thickness of their endometrium
- Endometrium biopsyAn in office
- HysteroscopyWhere a provider inserts a tiny telescope into the uterus to after and biopsy everything that is abnormal
- Dilatation & Curettage(D&C)A procedure that contains the dilation of the cervix and tissue from the uterus is removed with a special tool (Curette) that is carried out if an endometrium biopsy is not sufficient
- Gene and protein tests To check for the Lynch syndrome, an underlying cause of some cases of endometrium cancer
- Tests can also be carried out to check three genetic features (MMRD, MSI-H and TMB-H) that can be an option with treatment with immunotherapy (medication that helps the immune system)
- Complete blood election (CBC)A blood test that measures different types of blood cells (such as red and white blood cells) to search for abnormal mirrors
- CA-125 Bluttestwhich checked according to a substance called CA-125, which is released into the bloodstream by many endometrium cancer
A test that doesn’t pay attention to endometrium cancer? A pap test that is only used to search for cell changes in the cervix that can lead to cervical cancer.
“A big misunderstanding is that if you had a normal papal test, you were somehow tested on endometrium or uterine cancer,” said Lee. She added that many of her patients are surprised after years of normal papal tests when they were diagnosed with endometrium cancer.
Review of cancer spread
If your HCP believes that your cancer has progressed, you have to carry out further tests to determine whether it has spread to other parts of the body. This includes:
- X -ray of the chest To look for cancer in their lungs
- Computer tomography (CT) ScanWhat an X -ray process is checked for cancer in your other organs
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans This uses radio waves and magnets that can measure the spread of cancer in the brain, in the spinal cord, in the uterus and in the lymph node
- Positron emission tomography (PET) ScanWhen radioactive sugar (glucose) is searched for cancer cells, since cancer cells use glucose faster than normal cells
Which (if available) of these tests you need depends on whether your cancer has progressed, as well as your specific circumstances.
Early detection is the key
Endometrium cancer is very treatable if it is caught early. The 5-year relative survival rate is 95%if the cancer is localized, which means that it has not spread outside the uterus.
If you had symptoms of endometrium cancer or just want to understand your risk, speak to your HCP. If the costs are a problem, the prevention of Cancer Foundation offers help with free and inexpensive cancer tests.
This educational resource was created with the support of Karyopharm.
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