Women who make this "bad friend" should be careful not to lose their lives

Many women always feel that tumors and cancer are far away from them. This is true, but if you do not pay attention to protecting yourself, tumors and cancer will come to visit you immediately. And if a woman is entangled with these three types of tumors, she is very likely to die, so everyone must be careful.

A. Cervical cancer: the gynecological tumor with the clearest etiology

●LCT+HPV testing can screen for precancerous lesions

● Early cervical cancer can be cured, and women no longer need to be screened after the age of 65

Cervical cancer is currently the only malignant tumor with a relatively clear cause. Research results show that cervical cancer is closely related to persistent infection with high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV). At the same time, cervical cancer is also the only gynecological tumor that can be detected early.

Lin Zhongqiu, professor of gynecological oncology at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, said that the HPV infection rate is higher during women's sexually active period, but women can eliminate it by relying on their own immunity, so many women are transiently infected and do not develop cervical cancer. Once the immunity is low or there is a family inheritance (i.e. susceptibility), the body will be unable to eliminate the virus. The virus will act for a long time and cause cells to become cancerous. In addition, during sexual intercourse, the man's penis can easily transmit the HPV virus to the cervix. Studies show that 99.6% of cervical cancer is caused by HPV infection, and the incidence of cervical cancer increases by at least 5-10 times if there are more than 4 sexual partners.

The best way to screen for cervical cancer is liquid-based thin-layer cytology (LCT) + HPV virus testing, but most women only do a 36-yuan ordinary scraping during the physical examination, which can easily lead to missed diagnosis. The LCT examination is the screening method currently recommended by gynecological oncologists. Lin Zhongqiu specifically took the LCT tools and traditional scrapers to explain to reporters that for the LCT examination, a brush can be extended to the cervical opening and rotated, so that the cells can be scraped off. Then the brush head is placed in the culture medium, and after shaking and centrifugation, the tumor cells that have sunk to the bottom of the bottle are sucked up (tumor cells are slightly heavier and will sink to the bottom of the bottle during centrifugation), smeared on a glass slide and observed under a microscope. Doctors in the pathology department can easily identify cervical cancer cells, with a detection rate of over 90%, and can also detect precancerous lesions.

"There is no cervical cancer if you don't have sex, so the screening targets people who have sex. However, the chance of contracting cervical cancer is low after the age of 65, so there is no need for screening." Lin Zhongqiu pointed out, "In the past, the most common patients were around 50 years old, but now patients under 40 years old account for 10%-30%. This part often requires the preservation of the uterus."

Lin Zhongqiu said that cervical cancer is "the most easily curable cancer." As long as it is discovered early, the 5-year survival rate is 80%-90%. For example, if the tumor lesion is less than 2 cm and located close to the vagina, only cone biopsy is required and chemotherapy is generally not required.

B. Ovarian cancer

The deadliest gynecological cancer

●Ovarian cancer is highly malignant and there is currently no good screening method

● Be careful of ovarian cancer when you have symptoms such as ascites and abdominal distension

When talking about ovarian cancer, Lin Zhongqiu sighed and said, "Ovarian cancer is highly malignant and there is no good screening method. Unlike cervical cancer, you can find clues with just one check. The ovaries are in the abdomen of women, and the tumors in the stomach are not noticed for a long time until they grow bigger. Currently, two-thirds of patients are in the late stage of clinical treatment, and the treatment effect is relatively poor."

"There are no special symptoms in the early stages of ovarian cancer, and it is difficult to detect it through a full body check-up. The role of screening is limited, so early diagnosis is difficult. About 60%-70% of patients are in the late stages when they seek medical treatment." Lin Zhongqiu said, "If we must talk about screening methods, it may only be vaginal B-ultrasound. Because vaginal B-ultrasound goes deep into the vagina, it can detect slightly larger ovarian cancers. In addition, CA125 is also an ideal marker for ovarian epithelial cancer. By taking a blood test for CA125, some ovarian cancers can also be screened."

The reason why ovarian cancer is highly malignant is that it is often asymptomatic at first. Some patients accidentally discover it when they feel a lump in the lower abdomen or during a gynecological examination. Until the condition becomes serious, such as ascites and abdominal distension, patients will not immediately think of ovarian cancer and will often go to the gastroenterology department for treatment. In addition, as the tumor grows and ascites appears, some patients may feel an increase in waist circumference and even think they are obese and try to lose weight.

Lin Zhongqiu said that ovarian cancer spreads widely in the abdomen, like seeds, and the abdominal cavity is full of small tumors. These cancers stimulate the abdominal tissue and cause exudation, which is why there is ascites. Some patients had ovarian tumors that grew too large and pressed against the stomach, causing loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting. They went to the gastroenterology department, thinking it was a gastrointestinal problem, but after a long examination they found out that it was an ovarian tumor.

Ovarian cancer is one of the most deadly gynecological cancers. "Once ovarian cancer is diagnosed, basically all lesions such as the ovaries and uterus must be removed. Even if they are removed cleanly, the prognosis is still very poor."

C. Endometrial cancer - related to the continuous action of hormones

● Be alert to vaginal bleeding after menopause

● Weight control in middle-aged women can prevent endometrial cancer

"Endometrial cancer is less effective in treatment than cervical cancer, but slightly better in screening than ovarian cancer," said Lin Zhongqiu. "Because endometrial cancer occurs in the uterine cavity, vaginal bleeding often occurs when cancer occurs. Especially women in menopause (women over 50 years old) have the highest risk of endometrial cancer. If there is a small amount of vaginal bleeding that lasts for a long time, it is best to go to the hospital for a vaginal B-ultrasound."

Lin Zhongqiu pointed out that clinically only very early stage patients have no obvious symptoms and are only discovered accidentally during a general survey or gynecological examination. Once symptoms of endometrial cancer appear, the first symptom is vaginal bleeding. This irregular vaginal bleeding is the main symptom of endometrial cancer and is usually light to moderate in amount, rarely heavy. For menopausal women, vaginal bleeding can easily be mistaken for irregular menstruation, and they often don't take it seriously and don't seek medical treatment in time.

For women, it is best to have a vaginal B-ultrasound once a year to observe whether the thickness of the endometrium is normal. Lin Zhongqiu believes that after menopause, if the thickness of a woman's endometrium is less than 5 mm, the possibility of endometrial cancer can basically be ruled out. Before menopause, when there is a menstrual cycle, the thickness of the uterus is generally 10 mm. If vaginal bleeding occurs after menopause and a vaginal B-ultrasound reveals that the thickness of the uterus is more than 5 mm, further hysteroscopy should be performed to remove a portion of the endometrial tissue for pathological examination in order to confirm whether it is endometrial cancer.

For postmenopausal women, it is important to control their weight and never let their weight skyrocket. Because the androgens secreted by the adrenal glands can be converted into estrogens (estrone) through the action of enzymes (aromatase) in adipose tissue, the more adipose tissue there is, the stronger the conversion ability and the higher the estrogen level in the plasma. Simply put, the fatter a woman is, the more estrogen her body will have. In the absence of progesterone antagonism, the endometrium will grow wildly, which is a very important cause of endometrial cancer. Therefore, postmenopausal women must strengthen exercise, consume less high-calorie foods, and control their weight, which can prevent the occurrence of endometrial cancer.