Uterine Cancer
Uterine carcinoma is a fairly common malignancy seen in post-menopausal
women. It is often curative with surgery; many patients are diagnosed early and have excellent outcomes.
Hysterectomy
is the treatment of choice for uterine cancer. Radiation therapy to the pelvis and/or vagina may be offered after a hysterectomy
has been performed if poor prognostic factors are present in the hysterectomy specimen (i.e. deep invasion, high grade tumor,
cervical involvement.
Terk Oncology uses Elekta Infinity with Agility™, a form of IMRT, to treat
pelvic lymph nodes. VMAT is a major advance in radiation therapy. VMAT delivers highly precise treatment much faster then
standard IMRT. Treatments that once took 15-30 minutes can be accomplished in 2 minutes. This treatment allows for less scatter
dose to normal tissues.
Transvaginal brachytherapy may be offered after surgery or after external
beam therapy, depending on the pathology of the cancer. In this procedure, a thin, hollow tube is placed in the vagina and
radiation sources are placed through the tube for a short period of time.
Uterine Cancer
The
uterus is located in a woman’s pelvis between the bladder and the rectum. It is hollow and pear shaped and it is where
a baby is carried when a woman is pregnant. The uterus is divided into three main parts. The top of the uterus is referred
to as the fundus. The fallopian tubes extend from the fundus to the ovaries. The middle of the uterus is called the corpus
and the lower part of the uterus is called the cervix.
Uterine cancer frequently starts in the lining
of the uterus (endometrium). It can be referred to as uterine cancer, cancer of the uterus or endometrial cancer. The other
two types of cancer that affect the uterus are uterine sarcoma and cervical cancer.
Uterine sarcoma
is quite rare. It occurs when the cancer cells start in the muscle cells of the uterus. Cervical cancer occurs when the cancer
cells develop in the cervix. It can be caused by a virus. The treatment of cervical cancer is not described in this article.
Risk Factors
The risk factors for uterine cancer are:
- Age (over
50)
- Endometrial hyperplasia
- Hormone Replacement Therapy
- Being overweight or obese
- Race
(white women have the highest risk)
- Having colorectal cancer
- Taking tamoxifen (drug used to prevent breast
cancer)
Symptoms
The most common symptom for uterine cancer is post-menopausal
bleeding. Other symptoms can include discomfort in the pelvic region, painful intercourse, and experiencing pain when urinating.
It is important to note that these are fairly common symptoms for many different and less serious illnesses than uterine cancer.
Diagnosis
A biopsy of the uterine surface is necessary to diagnose endometrial
carcinoma.
Staging
The extent of local disease determines the stage of uterine
cancer. The testing for distant disease includes CT of the abdomen and pelvis.
UTERINE CANCER
