This article will look at the symptoms and signs of cervical cancer.
Cervical tumors are very common among cancers of the reproductive system in women. In modern medical practice, it is customary to single out the two most common oncological diseases of this area, which are cervical cancer and cancer of the tissues themselves.
The cervix is a particularly common localization of malignant tumor processes in the genitals in women. Due to the fact that it consists of a multilayer epithelial tissue located in the vestibule of the uterus and the glandular tissues of the uterine canal, this area is highly susceptible to various kinds of cell transformations that occur as a result of infection with a dangerous virus - human papillomavirus. Due to these facts, this type of cancer develops an order of magnitude more often than other cancers in women.
Symptoms and signs of cervical cancer in women are important to identify in advance.
Malignant tumors of this organ are the mostcommon among middle-aged and older women. The negative course of this disease, which has been observed in oncological and gynecological practice in recent years, indicates that the number of cases of this disease in young women is also growing rapidly. Cervical cancer in most cases responds very well to treatment, but it should be noted that a favorable prognosis occurs only with early diagnosis. Identifying the first symptoms of cervical cancer can be difficult.
Every woman should know about the causes of this dangerous pathology. This will help her to identify this problem in time and consult a doctor in a timely manner. Treatment of malignant processes affecting the cervix should be carried out at the very initial stages, and the sooner attempts are made to stop the development of the disease, the more chances a woman has for a full recovery.
Symptoms of cervical cancer are discussed below.
Varieties of this pathology
Cervical cancers are believed to differ depending on which cells the tumor is present in, therefore there are two such forms of cancer - squamous cell and adenocarcinoma, which is also called glandular cancer.
In the first situation of the formation of a malignant tumor, the pathological process develops from flat cells located on the bottom of the uterus, and in the second - from epithelial cells that make up the glandular tissue that coverscervical canal of the uterus. Regardless of the type of disease, its main symptoms will be largely similar to each other. The right to make a diagnosis in this case belongs exclusively to an oncologist who evaluates all the results of the patient's diagnostic tests, including laboratory tests, which are able to confirm the presence of one or another form of oncological disease.
Cervical cancer symptoms
Common symptoms of cervical cancer are:
- drastic weight loss resulting from a significant decrease in appetite;
- unreasonable rise in temperature;
- dryness and pallor of the skin;
- a state of weakness;
- periodic dizziness;
- excessive sweating phenomena.
Photos of symptoms and signs of cervical cancer will show the doctor.
Such signs may indicate general disorders in the functioning of the female body and are observed, as a rule, in various oncological pathologies, not only of the cervix, but also of other human organs. However, the above conditions do not always speak of malignant processes, since a lot of other diseases are known that have these symptoms. Cervical cancer is not always confirmed.
Specific symptoms of the disease
This kind of pathological processes occurring in the cervix has a rather peculiar symptomatology that distinguishes the disease from others. The main sign of the formation of a malignant tumor on the cervix area variety of uterine bleeding, or the release of blood-containing fluid from the vagina. This phenomenon can be observed after sexual intercourse or during it, as well as on any day of the menstrual cycle. Depending on the stage of development of the disease, such secretions can have a very different consistency and smell. In the early stages of the malignant process, the discharge may differ from the later ones. They are characterized, as a rule, by insignificant blood secretions that do not have a specific smell.
What other symptoms of cervical cancer are possible?
Pain syndrome in cervical cancer
During this period, a woman may also complain of pain and various pulling sensations in the lower abdomen and sacrum. A similar pain syndrome is also observed in more advanced stages of cancer, when the tumor grows into neighboring tissues and organs. The occurrence of pain may also signal that inflammation has joined the process of tumor development, usually caused by infection of the lesion site and surrounding tissues.
Early symptoms of cervical cancer in women are of interest to many.
The presence of pain can also be a sign of swelling, and in the later stages - the spread of metastases to the lymph nodes of the small pelvis, blockage of the lymphatic ducts and blood vessels. In such patients, edema can be observed not only in the genital organs, but also in the legs, impaired urine outflow, provoked by the pressure of enlarged lymph nodes and thetumors in the ureters. This often causes hydronephrosis and the development of purulent inflammation in the urinary system.
In these cases, there may be blood in the urine, which is facilitated by the germination of a malignant neoplasm in the bladder. Fistulas can develop in the intestines, which make it difficult for the passage of feces. However, these signs are observed, as a rule, in the most advanced stages of cancer and indicate that the treatment of such a pathology will present serious difficulties, and the patient has very little chance of recovery.
So, the main cause for concern is the discharge of blood from the female genital tract, which may be the first signal of the presence of a dangerous disease.
Symptoms and signs of cervical cancer depend on the stage.
Stages of oncological tumors
In total, there are five main stages of cervical cancer, the symptoms of which differ from each other. They are:
- Stage 0. The danger of this period of the course of the disease lies in the fact that the cancerous process does not cause specific symptoms. At this stage, there is a slight change in the structure of cells that can be defeated by the immune system on their own or begin the further development of the malignant process. The reasons for such changes at the cellular level can be cervical erosion or infection of a woman with the human papillomavirus. This stage of cancer can last for several years in some cases without causing much concern or symptoms. Detect changescells can only be obtained by special histological and cytological studies.
- 1 stage cervical cancer. Symptoms may be completely absent. In some cases, there is the appearance of blood discharge in different periods of the menstrual cycle, or associated with sexual activity. In the first stage, the malignant tumor is approximately 1 cm or less in size. It, as a rule, is not visualized outside the cervical canal of the uterus and affects the epithelial layer of cells at a depth of no more than 3-5 mm. At this stage in the development of cancer, gynecologists cannot always determine its presence by conducting a routine examination of a woman. At this stage, full recovery is possible only with the removal of affected tissues and appropriate concomitant therapy.
Symptoms of cervical cancer at an early stage can only be detected by an experienced specialist.
- Stage 2. In this case, the malignant neoplasm is no longer limited to the cervix and grows in certain directions, but does not affect neighboring organs located in the small pelvis. At this stage, there is usually always a discharge of blood from the genital organs, which appear spontaneously, regardless of external and cyclic circumstances. The occurrence of such symptoms is due to the defeat of oncology of blood vessels. In addition, this stage of cancer is almost always accompanied by pain in the lower abdomen and weight loss.
- 3 stage cervical cancer. The symptoms are already pronounced. malignant neoplasmbegins to penetrate into the pelvic area and affect neighboring organs. The signs of this process are similar to those that occur in the previous stage of cancer, but become clearer. The growth of a malignant tumor may already affect the organs of the urinary system, as a result of which signs of hydronephrosis and other renal pathologies are often observed. Cancer in this case is treated surgically, however, medical practice shows that relapses of the disease often occur. After removal of the tumor, a long remission phase can follow, lasting up to several months, but often the patient's condition worsens due to new cancer lesions.
- Stage 4. A malignant tumor acquires a significant size and begins to go beyond the small pelvis and affect other organs. At this stage, irreversible destructive processes develop in the female body. The main symptoms of the disease of the disease include: bloody discharge with a purulent odor, metastases to neighboring organs. The presence of purulent discharge indicates that the process of tumor decay has begun, which causes severe intoxication, when the patient can die only from poisoning. There are serious difficulties with urination. The prognosis of the disease at this stage is extremely unfavorable - in most cases it ends in death.
A photo of the symptoms of cervical cancer will help to distinguish one stage of the disease from another.
Other symptoms
Characteristic signs of the beginningoncological changes that occur in the cervix at the cellular level are specific leucorrhea, which often have a milky or brownish color, and sometimes differ in that they contain streaks of blood.
Many doctors also consider increased anxiety and excitability to be a symptom of cancer. psychosomatic changes in the body. These include vegetative-vascular dystonia, especially if the patient already suffers from this disease, then in such cases it usually aggravates or recurs. In addition, there is sleep disturbance, the occurrence of sudden panic attacks, even if the prerequisites for this, for example, in the form of stress, are absent.
Diagnostic confirmation of disease
The diagnosis of "cervical cancer" can be made only after passing a whole range of research activities, both laboratory and instrumental. The main reason for the start of the examination may be the occurrence of symptoms characteristic of this pathology. However, if a woman sees a doctor at an early stage, such symptoms are most often absent or characterize a precancerous disease.
The initial diagnostic procedure in this case is a gynecological examination, which is nevertheless considered uninformative, since it is impossible to visually determine the symptoms of cervical cancer in women at an early stage.
One of the most informative and at the same time affordable diagnostic methods is colposcopy, with the help of which it is possible to identify and separate the modified epithelium from the he althy one, andalso a preliminary assessment of the quality of the tumor and the exact location of its localization. Using this diagnostic method, it is possible to take a targeted smear to determine the presence of oncologically mutated cells, as well as to conduct a biopsy to increase the information content of cytological and histological studies.
This technique can be of two varieties - simple, when medications are not used, and extended, when the areas affected by the oncological process are treated with Lugol's solution and acetic acid. The advanced method usually provides a more accurate picture of the disease.
Even more modern and improved procedure is the so-called chromocolposcopy. This method is characterized by the use of special nuclear dyes, for example, 0.1% hematoxylin solution or 1% goluidine blue solution. Malignant cells are characterized by polyferative activity, so pathological tissues are stained in this case in a dark blue hue.
What else should I do for symptoms and signs of cervical cancer?
Cytology
Cytological screenings of malignant tumors of the cervix are very important studies in the early stages of the disease. This method makes it possible to detect malignant cells at the beginning of malignancy even before the appearance of visual manifestations on the epithelium of the cervix.
Cytology allows us to state the presence ofoncological pathology, as well as to determine the degree of differentiation, stromal reaction and histological type of malignant neoplasm.
Cytological studies are very informative during preventive examinations and are able to detect not only the presence of oncological, but also precancerous conditions.
Histological and morphological examinations
Biopsy is a very important technique that affects the accurate diagnosis and detection of a particular form and quality of a tumor in its various localizations. Samples of pathological tissues can be taken in various ways, but the study is to identify the histological and morphological qualities of the neoplasm.
Histological tests for cervical cancer are usually performed after all procedures and are clarifying examinations.
It is very important that the biopsy is targeted, that is, the pathological tissue should be taken for analysis, because if this does not happen, the results of the study are considered not informative.
Tumor markers
Blood tests for malignant neoplasms of the cervix for tumor markers are extremely informative, but this can only be said with blood tests at stages 3 and 4 of the disease. At earlier stages, these laboratory activities may not give a clear picture of the clinical picture of cancer.
More than 93% of all cases of the disease are detected preciselySquamous cell carcinoma as a type of oncological pathology of the cervix. For its diagnosis, as a rule, the oncomarker SCCA is used.
Instrumental Methods
In addition to the studies described above, some types of instrumental diagnostics are also used. Ultrasound in this case can determine cancer of more serious stages, and CT and MRI of the pelvic organs are considered the most informative methods. A layered section of the cervical epithelium allows specialists to clearly determine the presence of pathological tissues, as well as clarify their size and location.
We looked at the diagnosis and the main symptoms and signs of cervical cancer.
Treatment
Removal of the uterus and appendages can be performed using laparoscopy. The method avoids extensive incisions, trauma to internal organs and the formation of adhesions. The duration of hospitalization with laparoscopic intervention is much less than with traditional surgery, and is 3-5 days. Additionally, vaginal plastic surgery can be performed.
Cervical cancer radiotherapy may be given before surgery in an accelerated manner to reduce the size of the tumor and make it easier to remove. In many cases, surgery is performed first, then tissue is irradiated to kill any remaining malignant cells.
If surgery is contraindicated, a combination of remote and intracavitary radiotherapy is used.
Often used adjuvant (postoperative) chemotherapy with the use of "fluorouracil" and / or"Cisplatin". Chemotherapy may be given before surgery to reduce the size of the tumor. In some cases, chemotherapy is used as a standalone treatment.
How long do people live with symptoms of cervical cancer?
Forecast
Cervical cancer is a serious disease, but with early diagnosis, it can be successfully cured. At stage 1, survival for five years is 78%, at stage 2 - 57%, at stage 3 - 31%, at stage 4 - 7.8%. Overall survival at five years is 55%.
After a course of treatment, patients should be regularly observed by a gynecologist. During the first 2 years, an analysis for SCC, ultrasound, and, if necessary, CT is performed 1 time per quarter, over the next 3 years - 1 time per six months. X-ray of the lungs is performed 2 times a year.
Feedback on cervical cancer symptoms are below.
Reviews
Reviews on the treatment of this pathology are contradictory. There are a large number of comments left by women who managed to defeat the disease. But with all this, the risk of an unfavorable outcome is high. It depends on the stage at which oncopathology is detected. So it is important to visit a doctor regularly, monitor your he alth.
