Is cervical precancerous lesion cancer? What are the symptoms of cervical cancer?

Although cervical cancer is scary, it is a type of cancer. Solid tumors have obvious causes and a slow course, making them a preventable and curable disease. So, are the precursor lesions of cervical cancer cancer? What are the symptoms of cervical cancer?

Cervical precancerous lesions refer to lesions in the area before cancer occurs, which leads to cancerous lesions. Cervical precancerous lesions are severe cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN3). The occurrence and development of cervical cancer has a gradual evolution process, which can take from a few years to decades. It is generally believed that this evolution process has gone through mild, moderate and severe intraepithelial neoplasia, early invasive cancer and invasive cancer.

Cervical precancerous lesions are not cancer, but it takes about 10 years for general cervical precancerous lesions to develop into cervical cancer. This is a disease that can be prevented and cured. If prevented well, cervical precancerous lesions may not turn into cervical cancer. The key to preventing cervical precancerous lesions from turning into cervical cancer is to perform regular gynecological examinations, detect and treat cervical precancerous lesions in a timely manner, and terminate the development of cervical cancer. If preventive and therapeutic measures can be implemented, the cure rate of cervical cancer is very high. Early cervical cancer often has no obvious symptoms and signs, and the cervix is ​​smooth or difficult to distinguish from cervical columnar epithelial dysplasia. Because the cervix looks normal, patients with endocervical canal are easily missed or misdiagnosed. As the lesion progresses, the following manifestations may appear:

(1) Vaginal bleeding

In the early stage, it is mostly contact bleeding; in the middle and late stages, it is irregular vaginal bleeding. The amount of bleeding varies depending on the size of the lesion and the invasion of the interstitial blood vessels. If it invades large blood vessels, it can cause heavy bleeding. Young patients may also experience prolonged menstruation and increased menstrual volume; elderly patients often experience irregular vaginal bleeding after menopause. Generally, symptoms of exogenous vaginal bleeding occur earlier and the amount of bleeding is larger; this symptom occurs later in endogenous types.

(2) Vaginal discharge

Most patients have vaginal discharge, which is white or bloody, thin like water or rice water, or fishy. Late-stage patients may have a large amount of rice water or purulent leucorrhea due to necrosis of cancerous tissue and infection.

(3) Late symptoms

Different secondary symptoms may occur depending on the extent of cancer involvement, such as frequent urination, urgency, constipation, lower limb swelling and pain, etc.; when cancer compresses or involves the ureter, it may cause ureteral obstruction, hydronephrosis and uremia; in the late stage, systemic failure symptoms such as anemia and malignant diseases may occur.