One of the main unsolved problems of modern medicine is the high mortality rate from malignant diseases. Every year, the world loses several million human lives. For example, cervical cancer is in third place in terms of female mortality. However, thanks to early diagnosis, the number of deaths has halved over the past decade. So, what is this disease, what are its symptoms, and is cervical cancer visible on ultrasound?
What are the signs of the disease?
As with any other oncopathology, cervical cancer for a long time may have no symptoms.
At the initial stages, a woman may experience slight weakness, lack of appetite, as well as an inexplicable increase in body temperature to subfebrile values.
As the disease progresses, specific symptoms, such as:
- strange vaginal discharge;
- unpleasant odor;
- bloody discharge, similar to menstrual, but in the middle of the cycle or after sexual intercourse;
- among other things, pain and pain when urinating can be observed.
What to do if there are signs?
It is required to immediately consult a doctor and begin the necessary examination if one or more of the listed signs of cervical cancer appear. An ultrasound and other procedures will be prescribed by the gynecologist, if necessary. However, first of all, he will conduct an examination on the armchair, take a general smear, and also carefully examine the cervix. A specialist will appreciate its appearance, the condition of the mucous epithelium. In the presence of at least slight erosion, he will take a smear for oncocytology, and also, if he considers it necessary, will appoint an ultrasound examination.
Can I see cervical cancer on an ultrasound?
Ultrasound examination is necessary for a more detailed assessment of the erosion area on the mucous membrane of the cervix. However, it should be said that according to the results of an ultrasound scan alone, it is unacceptable to make a final diagnosis and conclude whether a woman has cancer or not.
The fact that ultrasound shows cervical cancer is not true in all cases. This survey only provides information on what further action needs to be taken.
Types of ultrasound
Does ultrasound determine cervical cancer also depends on the specific type of procedure. They are as follows:
- Transabdominal. The sensor is located on the patient’s stomach. This is a classic version of ultrasound.
- Transvaginal. When diagnosing neck diseases, it is most often used. However, in cases where the tumor is located at a certain angle from the walls of the vagina, the ultrasound probe may simply not notice it.
- Transrectal. Due to the proximity to the neck, ultrasound is sometimes used through the rectum. This is especially true for girls who have not yet begun to live sexually.
Nevertheless, it is most commonly used transvaginal ultrasound.
Diagnostic Methodology
Whether cervical cancer will be seen on an ultrasound scan also depends on proper and timely preparation.
As a rule, the doctor and patient do not need to carry out any special preparatory measures. Except for the following:
- On the eve of the procedure, the gynecologist can recommend a woman to have an enema to clean the walls of the rectum. This will provide a clearer picture and accuracy of the survey results.
- In addition, about an hour or two before the ultrasound, the patient should drink about 2-3 glasses of water. This will fill the bladder at the right time and create the right background for the image on the monitor screen.
- In the procedure itself, a woman should take off her clothes below the waist and lie on the couch. Then the doctor will insert a special sensor into her vagina, on which a condom is put on (for hygienic purposes).
- All that is required of the patient is to lie still, not move, and try to relax.
As a rule, the procedure lasts no longer than 10 minutes, during which the doctor assesses the general condition of the cervix, its walls, length, axis of location and patency of the canal.
What does an ultrasound of the cervix show?
Thanks to the information that a specialist receives using ultrasound, the patient can be diagnosed with pathological conditions such as:
- Cysts are cavities filled with fluid. They have a benign nature.
- Polyps - the growth of the mucous membrane of an abnormal nature.
- Endometriosis is a gynecological disease in which cells of the mucous membrane of the inner layer of the uterus grow very much.
- Myoma is a benign mass that occurs in the muscles of the uterus.
- Adenocarcinoma is a tumor formed from glandular tissue cells.
- Malignant formation - cervical cancer.
Ultrasound also determines, among other things, cervical pregnancy, when a fetal egg "by mistake" attaches to the cervix.
The tasks of the gynecologist
So, what should a doctor understand when examining a patient with ultrasound? What are his tasks?
- First of all, to establish the size of education.
- Assess the depth of invasion in organ tissue.
- In addition, it is important to determine the nature of tumor growth. It is exo- and endophytic.
- Determine if the growth has grown in the body of the uterus.
- Understand whether neighboring organs are affected. For example, the bladder and colon, rectum.
- If cancer is suspected, one should examine whether there are metastases on the ovaries and nearby lymph nodes.
Conditions for obtaining reliable results
If the tumor is located in the walls of the neck at a depth of not more than 3 mm, ultrasound equipment may simply not detect such a formation. Does cervical ultrasound see cancer in this case? Not. After all, the results will be such that the doctor can conclude that the patient is healthy.
Therefore, before appointing an ultrasound, a woman must be examined on a gynecological chair.
Explanation of indicators
Evaluation of the results can only be carried out by a specially trained doctor. During the procedure, he studies what he sees on the screen, records or dictates certain indicators to the nurse. According to the figures and other data, we can conclude about the condition of the cervix.
What the specialist sees on the screen
If for an ordinary person the image of an ultrasound is just a mixture of black, gray and white highlights, then for a specialist - a whole encyclopedia about the state of health of a particular organ of each patient. Including with cervical cancer. Does the ultrasound and the doctor see this pathology? At an early stage, the gynecologist may notice an oval-shaped formation, as well as clearly defined boundaries.
Then, as the hazardous process progresses, education grows in size, borders blur, become blurred. Inside the formation, there may be decay sites. They look like anechogenic cavities.
In addition, the blood flow in the tumor is significantly increased, the vessels become much larger and their diameter increases.
With exophytic growth, the tumor has blurred borders on the mucosa of the external pharynx of the neck, as well as an irregular shape.
With endophytic growth, an organ such as the cervix increases in size.
Further actions
There can be three outcomes after an ultrasound scan.
- The patient is healthy. After an ordinary examination of a woman on a chair and conducting ultrasound for preventive purposes, the doctor concludes that the woman is healthy. In this case, all she needs to do next is to regularly undergo scheduled medical examinations once every six months.
- On examination, the gynecologist notices erosion and directs the woman to an ultrasound scan, the results of which confirm the presence of education. In this case, the passage of tests for oncocytology and the human papillomavirus will play a decisive role. According to the data received, the doctor will be able to conclude about the ongoing process on the mucous membrane of the cervix and its danger.
- Ultrasound detects cervical cancer. Even if the results of the examination claim that the formation looks like a malignant one, you should not panic ahead of time. It so happens that the formation is ordinary erosion, which did not have time to turn into cancer. And then, with timely treatment, the outcome will be positive. With these examination results, the gynecologist prescribes the woman additional procedures in the form of computed and magnetic resonance imaging. These events will be able to provide comprehensive data on the neoplasm.
Conclusion
Many patients who have been suspected of this diagnosis are wondering if cervical cancer is visible on an ultrasound scan. Definitely yes. However, a woman needs to properly prepare for the procedure, this will significantly increase the reliability of the results.
Can an ultrasound show cervical cancer of the first stage? Probably not. In this case, the conduct of this survey is not always informative. In addition, it is worth remembering that this procedure cannot be the only method for diagnosing this dangerous disease.