A pelvic examination may detect an adnexal mass. A CA-125 blood test is a nonspecific test that tends to be elevated in patients with tubal cancer. More specific tests are a gynecologic ultrasound examination, a CT scan, or an MRI of the pelvis.

Occasionally, an early fallopian tube cancer may be detected serendipitously during pelvic surgery.

There is no simple and reliable way to test for ovarian cancer in women who do not have any signs or symptoms. The Pap test does not screen for ovarian cancer.

Screening is not recommended in women who are at average risk, as evidence does not support a reduction in death and the high rate of false positive tests may lead to unneeded surgery, which is accompanied by its own risks.

Ovarian cancer is usually only palpable in advanced stages. Screening is not recommended using CA-125 measurements, HE4 levels, ultrasound, or adnexal palpation in women who are at average risk. Risk of developing ovarian cancer in those with genetic factors can be reduced. Those with a genetic predisposition may benefit from screening. This high risk group has benefited with earlier detection.

Ovarian cancer has low prevalence, even in the high-risk group of women from the ages of 50 to 60 (about one in 2000), and screening of women with average risk is more likely to give ambiguous results than detect a problem which requires treatment. Because ambiguous results are more likely than detection of a treatable problem, and because the usual response to ambiguous results is invasive interventions, in women of average risk, the potential harms of having screening without an indication outweigh the potential benefits. The purpose of screening is to diagnose ovarian cancer at an early stage, when it is more likely to be treated successfully.

Screening with transvaginal ultrasound, pelvic examination, and CA-125 levels can be used instead of preventative surgery in women who have BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations. This strategy has shown some success.

Routine screening of asymptomatic people is not indicated, since the disease is highly curable in its early, symptomatic stages. Instead, women, particularly menopausal women, should be aware of the symptoms and risk factors of endometrial cancer. A cervical screening test, such as a Pap smear, is not a useful diagnostic tool for endometrial cancer because the smear will be normal 50% of the time. A Pap smear can detect disease that has spread to the cervix. Results from a pelvic examination are frequently normal, especially in the early stages of disease. Changes in the size, shape or consistency of the uterus and/or its surrounding, supporting structures may exist when the disease is more advanced. Cervical stenosis, the narrowing of the cervical opening, is a sign of endometrial cancer when pus or blood is found collected in the uterus (pyometra or hematometra).

Women with Lynch syndrome should begin to have annual biopsy screening at the age of 35. Some women with Lynch syndrome elect to have a prophylactic hysterectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy to greatly reduce the risk of endometrial and ovarian cancer.

Transvaginal ultrasound to examine the endometrial thickness in women with postmenopausal bleeding is increasingly being used to aid in the diagnosis of endometrial cancer in the United States. In the United Kingdom, both an endometrial biopsy and a transvaginal ultrasound used in conjunction are the standard of care for diagnosing endometrial cancer. The homogeneity of the tissue visible on transvaginal ultrasound can help to indicate whether the thickness is cancerous. Ultrasound findings alone are not conclusive in cases of endometrial cancer, so another screening method (for example endometrial biopsy) must be used in conjunction. Other imaging studies are of limited use. CT scans are used for preoperative imaging of tumors that appear advanced on physical exam or have a high-risk subtype (at high risk of metastasis). They can also be used to investigate extrapelvic disease. An MRI can be of some use in determining if the cancer has spread to the cervix or if it is an endocervical adenocarcinoma. MRI is also useful for examining the nearby lymph nodes.

Dilation and curettage or an endometrial biopsy are used to obtain a tissue sample for histological examination. Endometrial biopsy is the less invasive option, but it may not give conclusive results every time. Hysteroscopy only shows the gross anatomy of the endometrium, which is often not indicative of cancer, and is therefore not used, unless in conjunction with a biopsy. Hysteroscopy can be used to confirm a diagnosis of cancer. New evidence shows that D&C has a higher false negative rate than endometrial biopsy.

Before treatment is begun, several other investigations are recommended. These include a chest x-ray, liver function tests, kidney function tests, and a test for levels of CA-125, a tumor marker that can be elevated in endometrial cancer.

Prognosis depends to a large degree on the stage of the condition. In 1991 it was reported that about half of the patients with advanced stage disease survived 5 years with a surgical approach followed by cisplatinum-based chemotherapy.

For surface epithelial-stromal tumors, the most common sites of metastasis are the pleural cavity (33%), the liver (26%), and the lungs (3%).

This disease is often discovered during surgery for other conditions, e.g., hernia repair, following which an experienced pathologist can confirm the diagnosis. Advanced stages may present as tumors palpable on the abdomen or distention of the belly ("jelly belly" is sometimes used as a slang term for the condition). Due to the rarity of this disease, it is important to obtain an accurate diagnosis so that appropriate treatment may be obtained from a surgical oncologist who specializes in appendix cancer. Diagnostic tests may include CT scans, examination of tissue samples obtained through laparoscopy, and the evaluation of tumor markers. In most cases a colonoscopy is unsuitable as a diagnostic tool because in most cases appendix cancer invades the abdominal cavity but not the colon (however, spread inside the colon is occasionally reported). PET scans may be used to evaluate high-grade mucinous adenocarcinoma, but this test is not reliable for detecting low-grade tumors because those do not take up the dye which shows up on scans. New MRI procedures are being developed for disease monitoring, but standard MRIs are not typically used as a diagnostic tool. Diagnosis is confirmed through pathology.

HGPIN in isolation does not require treatment. In prostate biopsies it is not predictive of prostate cancer in one year if the prostate was well-sampled, i.e. if there were 8 or more cores.

The exact timing of repeat biopsies remains an area of controversy, as the time required for, and probability of HGPIN transformations to prostate cancer are not well understood.

Diagnosis of endometrial cancer is made first by a physical examination and dilation and curettage (removal of endometrial tissue; D&C). This tissue is then examined histologically for characteristics of cancer. If cancer is found, medical imaging may be done to see whether the cancer has spread or invaded tissue.

HGPIN is diagnosed from tissue by a pathologist, which may come from:

- a needle biopsy taken via the rectum and,

- surgical removal of prostate tissue:

- transurethral resection of the prostate - removal of extra prostate tissue to improve urination (a treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia),

- radical prostatectomy - complete removal of prostate and seminal vesicles (a treatment for prostate cancer).

Blood tests for prostate specific antigen (PSA), digital rectal examination, ultrasound scanning of the prostate via the rectum, fine needle aspiration or medical imaging studies (such as magnetic resonance imaging) are "not" useful for diagnosing HGPIN.

The diagnosis of urachal cancer can be difficult and usually requires a multidisciplinary approach. A calcification in the midline can be detected in some patients in abdominal imaging studies. A cystoscopy is helpful in most cases. For diagnosis evaluation of a tissue biopsy is needed, which is usually obtained by transurethral resection (TURBT). Measurement of serum concentrations of CEA, CA19-9 and CA125 can be helpful in monitoring urachal cancer

The diagnosis is based on tissue examination, e.g. biopsy.

The name of the lesion describes it microscopic appearance. It has nipple-like structures with fibrovascular cores () that are long in relation to their width (villus-like), which are covered with a glandular pseudostratified columnar epithelium.

Screening by hysteroscopy to obtain cell samples obtained for histological examination is being developed. This is similar to the current pap smear that is used to detect cervical cancer. The UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening is testing a screening technique that combines CA-125 blood tests with transvaginal ultrasound. Other studies suggest that this screening procedure may be effective. However, it's not yet clear if this approach could actually help to save lives—the full results of the trial will be published in 2015. One major problem with screening is no clear progression of the disease from stage I (noninvasive) to stage III (invasive) is seen, and it may not be possible to find cancers before they reach stage III. Another problem is that screening methods tend to find too many suspicious lesions, most of which are not cancer, but malignancy can only be assessed with surgery. The ROCA method combined with transvaginal ultrasonography is being researched in high-risk women to determine if it is a viable screening method. It is also being investigated in normal-risk women as it has shown promise in the wider population. Studies are also in progress to determine if screening helps detect cancer earlier in people with BRCA mutations.

Prognosis and treatment is the same as for the most common type of ovarian cancer, which is epithelial ovarian cancer.

The median survival of primary peritoneal carcinomas is usually shorter by 2–6 months time when compared with serous ovarian cancer. Studies show median survival varies between 11.3–17.8 months. One study reported 19-40 month median survival (95% CI) with a 5-year survival of 26.5%.

Elevated albumin levels have been associated with a more favorable prognosis.

The median overall survival rate is about 50% in 5 years. Worse prognostic factors include the presence of residual tumor at the margin of the resection specimen (R+), invasion of the peritoneum and metastatic disease.

For more general information, see ovarian cancer.

For advanced cancer of this histology, the US National Cancer Institute recommends a method of chemotherapy that combines intravenous (IV) and intraperitoneal (IP) administration. Preferred chemotherapeutic agents include a platinum drug with a taxane.

These aggressive tumors are generally diagnosed at advanced stages and survival is generally shorter. The prognosis of SRCC and its chemosensitivity with specific regimens are still controversial as SRCC is not specifically identified in most studies and its poor prognosis may be due to its more advanced stage. One study suggests that its dismal prognosis seems to be caused by its intrinsic tumor biology, suggesting an area for further research.

Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms can come to clinical attention in a variety of different ways. The most common symptoms include abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. The most common signs patients have when they come to medical attention include jaundice (a yellowing of the skin and eyes caused by obstruction of the bile duct), weight loss, and acute pancreatitis. These signs and symptoms are not specific for an intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm, making it more difficult to establish a diagnosis. Doctors will therefore often order additional tests.

Once a doctor has reason to believe that a patient may have an intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm, he or she can confirm that suspicion using one of a number of imaging techniques. These include computerized tomography (CT), endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP). These tests will reveal dilatation of the pancreatic duct or one of the branches of the pancreatic duct. In some cases a fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy can be obtained to confirm the diagnosis. Fine needle aspiration biopsy can be performed through an endoscope at the time of endoscopic ultrasound, or it can be performed through the skin using a needle guided by ultrasound or CT scanning.

IPMN forms cysts (small cavities or spaces) in the pancreas. These cysts are visible in CT scans (X-ray computed tomography). However, many pancreatic cysts are benign (see Pancreatic disease).

A growing number of patients are now being diagnosed before they develop symptoms (asymptomatic patients). In these cases, the lesion in the pancreas is discovered accidentally (by chance) when the patient is being scanned (i.e. undergoing an ultrasound, CT or MRI scan) for another reason. Up to 6% of patients undergoing pancreatic resection did so for treatment of incidental IPMNs.

In 2011, scientists at Johns Hopkins reported that they have developed a gene-based test that can be used to distinguish harmless from precancerous pancreatic cysts. The test may eventually help patients with harmless cysts avoid needless surgery. Bert Vogelstein and his colleagues discovered that almost all of the precancerous cysts (intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms) of the pancreas have mutations in the KRAS and/or the GNAS gene. The researchers then tested a total of 132 intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms for mutations in KRAS and GNAS. Nearly all (127) had mutations in GNAS, KRAS or both. Next, the investigators tested harmless cysts such as serous cystadenomas, and the harmless cysts did not have GNAS or KRAS mutations. Larger numbers of patients must be studied before the gene-based test can be widely offered.

10-year survival rates for mucinous tumors is excellent in the absence of invasion.

In the case of borderline tumors confined to the ovary and malignant tumors without invasion, the survival rates are 90% or greater. In invasive mucinous cystadenocarcinomas, the survival is approximately 30%

The criteria for diagnosing BACs have changed since 1999. Under the new definition, BAC is defined as a tumor that grows in a lepidic (that is, a scaly covering) fashion along pre-existing airway structures, without detectable invasion or destruction of the underlying tissue, blood vessels, or lymphatics. Because invasion must be ruled out, BAC can be diagnosed only after complete sectioning and examination of the entire tumor, not using biopsy or cytology samples. BAC is considered a pre-invasive malignant lesion that, after further mutation and progression, eventually generates an invasive adenocarcinoma. Therefore, it is considered a form of carcinoma "in situ" (CIS).

Primary signet-ring cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder is extremely rare and patient survival is very poor and occurs mainly in men ages 38 to 83. However, one such patient treated with a radical cystectomy followed by combined S-1 and Cisplatin adjuvant chemotherapy did demonstrate promising long-term survival of 90 months.

Treatment is variable, both due to its rarity and to its frequently slow-growing nature. Treatment ranges from watchful waiting to debulking and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC, also called intraperitoneal hyperthermic chemotherapy, IPHC) with cytoreductive surgery.

The treatment is dependent on the stage. As the prognosis of this tumour is usually good, fertility sparing approaches (conization, cervicectomy) may be viable treatment options.

Small carcinoids (<2 cm) without features of malignancy may be treated by appendectomy if complete removal is possible. Other carcinoids and adenocarcinomas may require right hemicolectomy. Note: the term "carcinoids" is outdated: these tumors are now more accurately called "neuroendocrine tumors." For more information, see "appendiceal neuroendocrine tumors."

Pseudomyxoma peritonei treatment includes cytoreductive surgery which includes the removal of visible tumor and affected essential organs within the abdomen and pelvis. The peritoneal cavity is infused with heated chemotherapy known as HIPEC in an attempt to eradicate residual disease. The surgery may or may not be preceded or followed with intravenous chemotherapy or HIPEC.

The treatment of choice for main-duct IPMNs is resection due to approximately 50% chance of malignancy. Side-branch IPMNs are occasionally monitored with regular CT or MRIs, but most are eventually resected, with a 30% rate of malignancy in these resected tumors. Survival 5 years after resection of an IPMN without malignancy is approximately 80%, 85% with malignancy but no lymph node spread and 0% with malignancy spreading to lymph nodes. Surgery can include the removal of the head of the pancreas (a pancreaticoduodenectomy), removal of the body and tail of the pancreas (a distal pancreatectomy), or rarely removal of the entire pancreas (a total pancreatectomy). In selected cases the surgery can be performed using minimally invasive techniques such as laparoscopy or robotic surgery. A study using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Result Registry (SEER) data suggested that increased lymph node counts harvested during the surgery were associated with better survival in invasive IPMN patients.

The criteria for diagnosing BAC have changed since 1999. Under the new definition, BAC is not considered to be an invasive tumor by pathologists, but as one form of carcinoma in situ (CIS). Like other forms of CIS, BAC may progress and become overtly invasive, exhibiting malignant, often lethal, behavior. Major surgery, either a lobectomy or a pneumonectomy, is usually needed to control it, and like other forms of non-small cell lung carcinoma, recurrences are frequent. Therefore, oncologists classify it among the other malignant tumors, which are invasive tumors.

Under the new, more restrictive WHO criteria for lung cancer classification, BAC is now diagnosed much less frequently than it was in the past. Recent studies suggest that BAC comprises between 3% and 5% of all lung carcinomas in the U.S.