What are the clinical manifestations of uterine cancer

The uterus is visible to the naked eye and in the very early stage, patients may have no obvious symptoms and are only discovered accidentally during a gynecological examination for a general survey or other reasons. Once symptoms appear, they are mostly manifested as uterine bleeding, vaginal discharge, pain, etc.

Irregular, continuous or intermittent vaginal bleeding before and after menopause is the main symptom of uterine cancer. It is usually a small to moderate amount of bleeding, and rarely a large amount of bleeding. Younger or near-menopausal patients may be misdiagnosed as menstrual disorders, and some patients may also show delayed or irregular menstrual cycles. Patients with endometrial cancer generally do not have contact bleeding. Late bleeding may be mixed with rotten meat-like tissue.

Because the lesions of uterine adenocarcinoma grow in the uterine cavity, the chance of infection is lower than that of cervical cancer, so in the early stage there may be only a small amount of bloody leucorrhea, and infection and necrosis will occur in the later stage. Then a large amount of foul-smelling pus and blood-like fluid will be discharged from the vagina, and sometimes small fragments of cancerous tissue will be mixed in the discharge.

The cancer and its bleeding and the accumulation of fluid will stimulate the irregular contraction of the uterus and cause paroxysmal pain in patients. This symptom mostly occurs in the late stage of uterine cancer. In addition, if the cancerous tissue penetrates the serosa or erodes the connective tissue around the uterus, the bladder, or compresses other tissues, it can also cause pain, which is often intractable and progressively aggravated, and often radiates from the lumbar sacral region and lower abdomen to the thighs and knees.

Patients with advanced uterine cancer can feel an enlarged uterus in the lower abdomen. Adjacent tissues and organs can cause swelling and pain in the lower limb on that side, resulting in lower abdominal pain, back pain, anemia and cachexia.