What is Endometrium (Uterine Cancer)?
Endometrial cancer is cancer of the inner lining of the uterus, called the endometrium. Uterus; It consists of two parts called the cervix (cervix) extending into the vagina at the lower part and the body at the upper part. The body also has two parts; The inner part is called the endometrium.
What are the symptoms?
The most common symptoms of uterine cancer are:
Abnormal or ongoing bleeding, spotting: Especially bleeding during menopause should be approached carefully.
Pain, discomfort or pressure in the lower abdomen (pelvic region)
Abdominal bloating
unexplained weight loss
Mass in the genital area
Risk factors
Factors defined as risk factors are those that increase the probability of developing a disease. However, the point that should be mentioned here is that; The fact that a person has one or more risk factors does not necessarily mean that that person will develop that cancer/or disease. There are people who have risk factors but do not develop disease/cancer.
It is not known exactly what causes endometrial cancer, and the known risk factors are;
advanced age
family history
Menstruation that starts early and continues until late age,
History of infertility or not having given birth
Obesity
Diagnosis
The most frequently used diagnostic methods in uterine cancer are;
Endometrial biopsy: Tissue sampling is performed by entering the uterus with the help of a thin and flexible tube.
Hysteroscopy: This method allows the doctor to look inside the uterus. The doctor tries to understand what is causing the abnormal bleeding by penetrating the uterus with a thin camera. A biopsy can also be taken if needed.
Dilatation and curettage (D&C): If the biopsy is too small to clearly show the doctor whether there is cancer or not, a D&C should be performed. In this method, the cervix is enlarged and a sample is taken by scraping the intrauterine tissue with special instruments.
Apart from this, different methods can be used in diagnosis (such as Ultrasonography, MR, Computed Tomography).
Treatment
The treatment of each patient differs, and multiple factors such as the location of the disease, the stage of the disease, the patient’s age and other health problems are effective in the treatment decision. These treatments, which require a multidisciplinary study; It includes different options such as surgery, hormonal treatments, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
