One of the main unsolved problems of modern medicine is the high human mortality from malignant diseases. Every year the world loses several million human lives. For example, cervical cancer is the third leading cause of death among females. However, thanks to early diagnosis, the number of deaths has been halved over the past decade. So, what is this disease, what are its signs and is cervical cancer visible on ultrasound?
What are the signs of the disease
As with any other oncopathology, with cervical cancer, there may be no symptoms for a long time.
At the initial stages, a woman may experience slight weakness, lack of appetite, as well as an unexplained increase in body temperature to subfebrile values.
As the disease progresses, general symptoms may be joined by specific symptoms such as:
- strange vaginal discharge;
- bad smell;
- bleeding similar to menstruation, but in the middle of the cycle or after intercourse;
- among other things, there may be pain and cramps when urinating.
What to do if there are signs?
You should immediately consult a doctor and begin the necessary examination if one or more of the listed signs of cervical cancer appear. The gynecologist will prescribe an ultrasound and other procedures if he considers it necessary. However, first of all, he will conduct an examination on the chair, take a general smear, and also carefully examine the cervix. The specialist will evaluate its appearance, the condition of the mucous epithelium. If there is at least a slight erosion, he will take a smear for oncocytology, and also, if he deems it necessary, he will prescribe an ultrasound examination.
Can cervical cancer be seen on ultrasound?
Ultrasound examination is necessary for a more detailed assessment of the erosive area on the mucous membrane of the cervix. However, it should be said that based on the results of the ultrasound alone, it is unacceptable to make a final diagnosis and conclude whether a woman has cancer or not.
The fact that ultrasound shows cervical cancer is not true in all cases. This survey only provides information on what further actions need to be taken.
Types of ultrasound
Whether an ultrasound detects cervical cancer also depends on the type of procedure. They are as follows:
- Transabdominal. The sensor is located on the patient's abdomen. This is a classic ultrasound.
- Transvaginal. In the diagnosis of diseases of the cervix is used most often. However, in cases where the tumor is located at a certain angle from the walls of the vagina, the ultrasound probe may simply not notice it.
- Transrectal. Due to the proximity to the neck, ultrasound is sometimes used through the rectum. This is especially true for girls who have not yet begun to live sexually.
However, transvaginal ultrasound is the most commonly used.
Diagnosis Methodology
Whether cervical cancer can be seen on ultrasound also depends on proper and timely preparation.
As a rule, the doctor and the patient do not need to carry out any special preparatory measures. Except for the following:
- The day before the procedure, the gynecologist may recommend that the woman take an enema to clean the walls of the rectum. This will provide a clearer picture and more accurate test results.
- In addition, about an hour or two before the ultrasound, the patient should drink about 2-3 glasses of water. This will fill the bladder by the right time and create the desired background for the image on the monitor screen.
- During the procedure itself, the woman should take off her clothes below the waist and lie down on the couch. After that, the doctor will insert a special sensor into her vagina, on which a condom is put on (inhygiene purposes).
- All that is required of the patient is to lie still, not move and try to relax.
As a rule, the procedure lasts no longer than 10 minutes, during which the doctor assesses the general condition of the cervix, its walls, length, axis of location and patency of the canal.
What does a cervical ultrasound show?
Thanks to the information that the specialist receives with the help of ultrasound, the patient can be diagnosed with such pathological conditions as:
- Cysts are cavities filled with fluid. Are of a benign nature.
- Polyps are an overgrowth of the mucous membrane of an abnormal nature.
- Endometriosis is a gynecological disease in which the cells of the lining of the inner layer of the uterus grow very strongly.
- Fibroids are benign growths that occur in the muscles of the uterus.
- Adenocarcinoma is a tumor formed from glandular tissue cells.
- Malignant growth - cervical cancer.
Ultrasound determines, among other things, also cervical pregnancy, when the fetal egg "by mistake" is attached to the cervix.
Gynecologist tasks
So, what should a doctor understand when examining a patient with ultrasound? What is its mission?
- First of all, set the size of education.
- Assess the depth of invasion into the tissue of the organ.
- In addition, it is important to determine the nature of tumor growth. It can be exo- and endophytic.
- Install,whether the formation has sprouted into the body of the uterus.
- Understand if neighboring organs are affected. For example, the bladder and large intestine, rectum.
- If you suspect cancer, you should examine if there are metastases on the ovaries and nearby lymph nodes.
Conditions for obtaining reliable results
If the tumor is located in the walls of the cervix at a depth of no more than 3 mm, ultrasound equipment simply may not detect such a formation. Does ultrasound see cervical cancer in this case? No. After all, the results will be such that the doctor can conclude that the patient is he althy.
Therefore, before prescribing an ultrasound, a woman must be examined on a gynecological chair.
Deciphering indicators
Results can only be evaluated by a specially trained physician. During the procedure, he studies what he sees on the screen, writes down or dictates certain indicators to the nurse. According to the received figures and other data, it is possible to draw a conclusion about the state of the cervix.
What the specialist sees on the screen
If for an ordinary person an ultrasound image is just a mixture of black, gray and white highlights, then for a specialist it is a whole encyclopedia about the state of he alth of one or another organ of each patient. Including cervical cancer. Does the ultrasound and the doctor see this pathology? At an early stage, the gynecologist may notice an oval-shaped mass, as well as well-defined borders.
Then, as the dangerous process progresses,education increases in size, the boundaries are erased, become blurred. Inside the formation there may be areas of decay. They look like anechoic cavities.
In addition, the blood flow in the tumor increases significantly, the vessels become much larger and their diameter increases.
With exophytic growth, the tumor has blurred borders on the mucous membrane of the external cervical os, as well as an irregular shape.
With endophytic growth, an organ such as the cervix increases in size.
Next steps
There can be three outcomes after an ultrasound scan.
- The patient is he althy. After an ordinary examination of a woman on a chair and an ultrasound for preventive purposes, the doctor concludes that the woman is he althy. In this case, all she needs to do next is regularly, every six months, undergo scheduled medical examinations.
- On examination, the gynecologist notices erosion and sends the woman to an ultrasound, the results of which confirm the presence of education. In this case, the passage of tests for oncocytology and human papillomavirus will play a decisive role. According to the data received, the doctor will be able to draw a conclusion about the ongoing process on the cervical mucosa and its danger.
- Ultrasound detects cervical cancer. Even if the results of the examination state that the formation looks like a malignant one, you should not panic ahead of time. It happens that education turns out to be an ordinary erosion that did not have time to turn into cancer. And then, with timely treatment, the outcome will bepositive. With such examination results, the gynecologist prescribes additional procedures for the woman in the form of computed and magnetic resonance imaging. These events will be able to provide comprehensive data on the neoplasm.
Conclusion
Many patients who have been suspected of having this diagnosis are interested in whether cervical cancer is visible on ultrasound? Definitely yes. However, a woman needs to properly prepare for the procedure, this will significantly increase the reliability of the results.
Can ultrasound show stage 1 cervical cancer? Most probably not. In this case, the conduct of this survey is not always informative. In addition, it is worth remembering that this procedure cannot be the only method for diagnosing this dangerous disease.
