Early symptoms of endometrial cancer in women

As our economy continues to develop, our lives are getting better and better, our society is getting more and more advanced, and our country is getting more and more prosperous. So at this time, we should have a healthy body! We can enjoy the happiness that life brings us. However, many female friends suffer from endometrial cancer, which disrupts all this. How much do you know about the common knowledge of endometrial cancer?

Core Tip: Irregular vaginal bleeding is the main symptom of endometrial cancer. It is usually a small to moderate amount of bleeding. In young women or perimenopausal women, it is often mistaken for irregular menstruation and ignored. In postmenopausal women, it often presents with continuous or intermittent vaginal bleeding. When it comes to gynecological tumors, many people will first think of cervical cancer, because it has the highest incidence rate among gynecological tumors. However, in recent years, the incidence of endometrial cancer has been increasing, and the rate of increase is very fast. The age of onset is also getting younger and younger, and it has become the number one killer of women's health. Very early patients may have no obvious symptoms and are only discovered accidentally during a census or gynecological examination. Once symptoms appear, they are mostly manifested as:

(I) Bleeding: Irregular vaginal bleeding is the main symptom of endometrial cancer, usually a small to moderate amount of bleeding. In young women or perimenopausal women, it is often mistaken for irregular menstruation and ignored. In postmenopausal women, it often manifests as continuous or intermittent vaginal bleeding. Some patients only show a small amount of bloody vaginal discharge after menopause. In late-stage patients, bleeding may be mixed with rotten meat-like tissue.

(ii) Vaginal discharge: Some patients have varying degrees of vaginal discharge. In the early stages, it may appear as thin white discharge or a small amount of bloody leucorrhea. If there is infection or necrosis of the cancerous foci, there may be purulent discharge with a peculiar smell. Sometimes, the vaginal discharge may be accompanied by tissue-like substances.

(III) Pain: Cancerous lesions and the bleeding or infection they cause can stimulate uterine contractions and cause paroxysmal lower abdominal pain. Postmenopausal women may experience severe lower abdominal pain accompanied by fever due to poor drainage of uterine secretions caused by cervical stenosis and secondary infection leading to uterine pyometra. In the late stage of the tumor, when cancerous tissue infiltrates through the entire uterine layer, or invades the parauterine connective tissue, paracervical ligaments, bladder, intestinal tract, or infiltrates and compresses the pelvic wall tissue or nerves, it can cause persistent and gradually worsening pain, which may be accompanied by lumbar pain or radiate to the ipsilateral lower limb.

(IV) Abdominal mass: In the early stage of endometrial cancer, abdominal masses are generally not palpable. If endometrial cancer is combined with large uterine fibroids, or in the late stage, pyometra occurs, and metastasis occurs to the pelvic and abdominal cavities to form a huge mass (such as ovarian metastasis), a mass may be palpated in the abdomen. It is generally solid, has poor mobility, and is sometimes tender.

(V) Others: In the late stage of tumor, infiltration and compression of iliac blood vessels may cause edema and pain in the ipsilateral lower limb; infiltration and compression of ureter by lesions may cause hydronephrosis of the ipsilateral renal pelvis and ureter, and even lead to renal atrophy; persistent bleeding may lead to secondary anemia; long-term tumor consumption may lead to systemic failure manifestations such as weight loss, fever, and cachexia.

The above is the clinical symptoms of endometrial cancer that have been introduced to everyone. Therefore, it is difficult for patients to detect its symptoms in its early stages, so generally by the time it is discovered that it is not already in the middle or late stages, this will make treatment very difficult. For the early detection of endometrial cancer, we can only rely on physical examinations, so for some women, it is recommended to do regular physical examinations.