Cervical cancer and endometrial cancer have a relatively easy-to-understand symptom of ‘small amount of vaginal bleeding’, so they have a good prognosis because they can be detected relatively early compared to ovarian cancer, which is called the silent assassin. If you ignore the symptoms of vaginal bleeding and do not receive regular checkups, symptoms such as odorous discharge, lower abdominal pain, and excessive bleeding may appear.
Cervical cancer is primarily associated with human papillomavirus (HPV). Human papillomavirus infection is mainly transmitted through sexual intercourse, that is, it can appear in all sexually active women, so it is a virus so common that 80% of women are infected once. Liquid cervical cytology, performed for early detection of cervical cancer, is a test in which cells are obtained by rubbing the cervix with a brush, and then smeared on a slide to observe the shape under a microscope. According to the cell shape, it is divided into normal, atypical squamous cells, low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, and atypical glandular cells. If abnormal findings are found, biopsy is performed for accurate diagnosis. When diagnosed as stage 3 cervical intraepithelial tumor, sometimes expressed as stage 0 of cervical cancer, a simple operation (cervical coneectomy) can prevent the progression to cervical cancer while preserving fertility. If cervical cancer is early, surgery can be performed immediately and the prognosis is good.
According to data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the number of patients treated for endometrial cancer increased by about 50% from 11,629 in 2013 to 17,421 in 2017. It is known to show a steep increase in young women in the teenage years. The increase in endometrial cancer can be attributed to improved nutritional status and increased proportion of obese women. In addition, early menarche or late menopause, women who have never given birth, or long-term administration of drugs that can affect female hormones are more likely to develop endometrial cancer.
Professor Yoon Sang-hee, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Inje University Sanggye Paik Hospital, said, “If you have risk factors, have postmenopausal vaginal bleeding in addition to regular examinations, or have irregular bleeding at times other than menstruation, an ultrasound examination is required to check the condition of the endometrium.” If an endometrial lesion is suspected during the examination, a biopsy is performed for an accurate diagnosis.” Since endometrial hyperplasia can progress to endometrial cancer in 1-29% of cases, hormone therapy or surgical treatment can reduce the risk of cancer. Early detection of endometrial cancer is important as it has a high cure rate with a survival rate of more than 85% for more than 5 years in the early stages.
Professor Yoon Sang-hee added, “We recommend liquid cervical cytology and pelvic ultrasound as regular check-ups for obstetrics and gynecology.
[이병문 의료선임기자]
[ⓒ 매일경제 & mk.co.kr, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]
