Introduction to the early symptoms of endometrial cancer

When talking about gynecological tumors, most women first think of endometrial cancer, because it is the most common malignant tumor in women. However, the World Health Organization has conducted statistics on major diseases in women over the past few years and found that the incidence of endometrial cancer is gradually increasing, and the incidence is "speeding up" and catching up with cervical cancer. The age of onset has dropped from 58-61 years old to 45 years old, accounting for 20-30% of reproductive tract malignant tumors.

There are two types of endometrial cancer: estrogen-dependent and non-estrogen-dependent. Estrogen-dependent endometrial cancer is more common and is related to estrogen. When there is too much estrogen in the body and a lack of progesterone to balance it, the endometrium grows out of control and becomes a precancerous lesion or cancer.

Most patients with endometrial cancer have obvious clinical symptoms.

The female uterus includes the uterine body and cervix. The uterine body is a hollow organ covered with the endometrium. Starting from puberty, the thickness and structure of the endometrium undergo periodic changes, resulting in monthly menstruation in women. This is because the endometrium is affected by hormones secreted by organs such as the ovaries. Under the influence of the human body's own factors and external factors, the endometrium will be damaged. The damaged endometrial cells become different from normal cells, proliferate faster, and have a harmful effect on the normal cell tissues of the human body. This is the formation of tumors. Because this tumor originates from endometrial tissue, it is called endometrial cancer. The vast majority of patients with endometrial cancer have obvious clinical symptoms, such as irregular vaginal bleeding, vaginal bleeding after menopause, etc., and endometrial cancer mostly metastasizes slowly to other tissues, so 75% of endometrial cancer patients have early lesions.

Patients with very early-stage endometrial cancer may not feel anything abnormal, but as the disease progresses, the following abnormal manifestations may appear.

1. Irregular menstruation. The most common is irregular vaginal bleeding, which is sometimes heavy and sometimes light. The amount of bleeding is not much at the beginning, but it will increase as the disease progresses, but heavy bleeding is rare. Patients who have not yet reached menopause may experience increased menstrual flow, prolonged menstrual period, and intermittent bleeding. Patients who have reached menopause and have vaginal bleeding, which is medically called postmenopausal irregular vaginal bleeding, should first be alert to the possibility of endometrial cancer in the uterus.

2. Abnormal leucorrhea. A small number of people will have increased leucorrhea, which may be like blood in the early stage; in the late stage, combined with infection, pus-like discharge may appear with a foul odor.

3. Pain. Generally, endometrial cancer does not cause pain, but in advanced cases, it may invade nearby organs and nerves, or cause compression symptoms due to the large size of the tumor, which may cause pain in the lower abdomen, waist, legs, feet, etc.

4. In the late stage, the patient may experience weight loss, fever, general weakness, pale complexion, anemia, etc. We call this cachexia.

Does irregular bleeding mean I have endometrial cancer?

This statement is wrong. There are many possible reasons for irregular vaginal bleeding, such as vaginal, cervical or endometrial inflammation, miscarriage, uterine fibroids, gynecological tumors, endocrine disorders, etc., but most irregular vaginal bleeding is not endometrial cancer. Many women sometimes have irregular bleeding, but few actually suffer from endometrial cancer. Therefore, if irregular vaginal bleeding occurs, don't be too nervous, as if you are facing a great enemy, but it doesn't mean that you can ignore it. We must go to the hospital to find out the cause of the bleeding, so that we can feel at ease.