What to do after uterine cancer relapses

If cervical cancer recurs after surgery or after radiotherapy and chemotherapy, most cases occur within 3 years. If cervical cancer recurs and is not treated, the patient will die within 1-2 years. The most common recurrence of cervical cancer is local recurrence of the pelvic wall, paracervix and cervix. Distant metastasis is most common in supraclavicular lymph nodes and lung metastasis.

The main manifestations of cervical cancer recurrence vary depending on the site of cancer recurrence. If the cervix or vagina recurs, there is often irregular vaginal bleeding or foul-smelling leucorrhea; if the pelvic wall or paracervix recurs, there may be pain and edema in the affected lower limb, pain in the lumbosacral region or lower abdomen, and a pelvic examination may touch a paracervical mass or a fixed mass in the sacral fossa; if the rectum or bladder metastases, there is often blood in the stool or hematuria; bone metastases often cause local pain; lung metastases may cause coughing and chest pain. Metastasis to supraclavicular lymph nodes may cause enlarged and hard lymph nodes. When the above symptoms and signs appear after treatment of cervical cancer, the possibility of recurrence should be considered. Local recurrence of the cervix and vagina can be diagnosed easily by vaginal smear cytology and biopsy. However, paracervical and pelvic wall recurrences are mainly based on clinical symptoms and pelvic examinations, and diagnosis is more difficult. Attention should be paid to the differentiation of pelvic masses from lymphoceles after radical surgery, pelvic wall inflammation, and paracervical connective tissue fibrosis after radiotherapy. Local fine needle aspiration for cell smear and pathological examination is helpful for clear diagnosis. B-ultrasound, CT, PET-CT/pelvic examination, etc. have certain reference value for diagnosing recurrent and metastatic cancer.

In actual follow-up examinations, patients with squamous cell carcinoma also have a tumor indicator SCC (squamous cell carcinoma antigen). If it continues to rise, you should be careful, as it often means recurrence or metastasis. However, this indicator is often interfered by inflammation. If you have a cough or cold before the follow-up examination, it is best to wait until the disease improves before the follow-up examination to avoid interference with the test results.