Download Title: Gynaecological Cancers

Title: Gynaecological Cancers - Dr Gabriela Fuchs
Description: The podcast gives a brief insight into gynaecological cancers and the
methods of screening available for these patients with these cancers.
Transcript
Gynaecological cancers include cancer of the ovaries and the endometrium, which is
otherwise known as the womb
A small proportion of these cancers can have an inherited component.
Ovarian cancer can be linked with breast cancer and other cancers such as bowel.
Endometrial cancer can be linked to bowel tumours.
By looking at the histology (under a microscope) of these tumours, this can give us
clues to whether a cancer has an inherited component.
For people with inherited susceptibility to either of these types of tumours the risk
of developing cancer increases from 35 yrs.
I will now talk about options for screening and that means picking up the tumours at
an early stage and the options for management of people at risk of these types of
tumours.
First we will talk about ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer is a difficult tumour to diagnose early as there aren’t really many
symptoms associated with it. The symptoms are generally non-specific such as
bloating, decreased appetite, and sometimes people might get backache and
indigestion
At present there is no clear consensus on screening in ovarian cancer and whether it
can save lives.
The UKFOCSS study has recently closed. This is quite a large study that has looked at
the use of a blood marker, which is called the CA125and ultrasound scan to detect
tumours early. The CA125 may miss some tumours and may go up for other
reasons. It can also be difficult to distinguish between cysts and cancer on an
ultrasound scan.
The results of this study will be available in 2012-2014 and they’ll hopefully give us a
bit more guidance as to which screening to offer to patients who are high risk for
these tumours
Patients who are in these very high risk groups might be recommended surgery to
remove their ovaries.
I’ll now talk about endometrial cancer
www.le.ac.uk/vgec
Endometrial cancer usually presents with post-menopausal or intra-menstrual
bleeding. If you develop either of these symptoms, you should seek medical advice.
Endometrial screening is offered to those people in high risk groups.
It consists of annual ultrasound scan and hysteroscopy (where you take a camera
and look into the womb). At this point, they may also take a biopsy.
There is some suggestion that fitting a progesterone releasing coil can decrease the
risk of endometrial cancer and this may be offered to you if you are high risk.
For ladies who have completed their family, they may be offered hysterectomy.
Decisions for surgery are not made quickly. Patients at high risk groups would be
seen in a joint clinic with gynaecologists, geneticists, and there may be additional
support from genetic counselors and clinical psychologists. This is so that the patient
has all the information before they embark on any kind of procedure.
www.le.ac.uk/vgec