Metastatic pathways of endometrial cancer

Endometrial cancer has no obvious symptoms in the early stage and is only discovered accidentally during gynecological examinations. Most endometrial cancers grow slowly and are confined to the endometrium or uterine cavity for a long time; some special pathological types of endometrial cancers such as serous papillary adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, clear cell carcinoma and poorly differentiated carcinoma can develop very quickly and metastasize in a short period of time. The characteristic of cancer cells is that they can metastasize and spread, so what are the professional ways to treat endometrium?

Common metastatic pathways of endometrial cancer include lymphatic metastasis: lymphatic metastasis is the main metastatic pathway of endometrial cancer. When the tumor infiltrates into the deep muscle layer or spreads to the cervical canal, or when the cancer tissue is poorly differentiated, lymphatic metastasis is likely to occur. The lymphatic metastasis pathways of cancer lesions in the lower uterine segment and cervical canal are the same as those of cervical cancer, which can spread to the parauterine internal iliac, external iliac, and common iliac lymph nodes; cancer lesions on the posterior wall of the uterus can spread along the uterosacral ligament to the rectal lymph nodes; and cancer lesions on the anterior wall can spread to the bladder lymph nodes. Endometrial cancer can also drain retrogradely to the anterior wall of the vagina via lymphatic vessels.

Common metastatic pathways of endometrial cancer include direct spread: in clinical practice, the most common cause is the spread of inflammation of the endometrium, which can extend upward through the uterine horn to the fallopian tube; downward to the cervical canal, and continue to spread to the vagina. It can even extend to the fallopian tube and ovary, and flow to the pelvic peritoneum, uterine rectal pouch and greater omentum.

The common metastatic pathway of endometrial cancer is hematogenous metastasis: in the late stage, it can metastasize to various organs of the body through the blood, and common sites are lungs, liver, bones, etc. Compared with the characteristics of hematogenous transmission, the main symptom of endometrial cancer is abnormal uterine bleeding, and about 90% of patients will experience this symptom. Therefore, in the infection stage of endometrial cancer, this period is also the easiest stage for detection.

Clinically, the vast majority of patients can be diagnosed in the early stages before cancer cells spread out, and better clinical treatment can be achieved at this time. Moreover, for patients, early treatment has relatively little impact on the body.