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Deep Learning Technology: Sebastian Arnold, Betty van Aken, Paul Grundmann, Felix A. Gers and Alexander Löser. Learning Contextualized Document Representations for Healthcare Answer Retrieval. The Web Conference 2020 (WWW'20)
Funded by The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy; Grant: 01MD19013D, Smart-MD Project, Digital Technologies
Vaginal bleeding or spotting in women after menopause occurs in 90% of endometrial cancer. Bleeding is especially common with adenocarcinoma, occurring in two-thirds of all cases. Abnormal menstrual cycles or extremely long, heavy, or frequent episodes of bleeding in women before menopause may also be a sign of endometrial cancer.
Symptoms other than bleeding are not common. Other symptoms include thin white or clear vaginal discharge in postmenopausal women. More advanced disease shows more obvious symptoms or signs that can be detected on a physical examination. The uterus may become enlarged or the cancer may spread, causing lower abdominal pain or pelvic cramping. Painful sexual intercourse or painful or difficult urination are less common signs of endometrial cancer. The uterus may also fill with pus (pyometrea). Of women with these less common symptoms (vaginal discharge, pelvic pain, and pus), 10–15% have cancer.
The uterine sarcomas form a group of malignant tumors that arises from the smooth muscle or connective tissue of the uterus.
The growing mass may cause pain if ovarian torsion develops. Symptoms can be caused by a mass pressing on the other abdominopelvic organs or from metastases. If these symptoms start to occur more often or more severely than usual, especially after no significant history of such symptoms, ovarian cancer is considered. Metastases may cause a Sister Mary Joseph nodule. Rarely, teratomas can cause growing teratoma syndrome or peritoneal gliomatosis. Some experience menometrorrhagia and abnormal vaginal bleeding after menopause in most cases. Other common symptoms include hirsutism, abdominal pain, virilization, and an adnexal mass.
Most vaginal cancers do not cause signs or symptoms early on. When vaginal cancer does cause symptoms, they may include:
- Vaginal discharge or abnormal bleeding.
- Unusally heavy flow of blood
- Bleeding after menopause
- Bleeding between periods; or any other
- Bleeding that is longer than normal for you
- Blood in the stool or urine
- Frequent or urgent need to urinate
- Feeling constipated
- pain during sexual intercourse
- a lump or growth in the vagina that can be felt
Enlarged pelvic lymph nodes can sometimes be palpated.
In adolescents or children with ovarian tumors, symptoms can include severe abdominal pain, irritation of the peritoneum, or bleeding. Symptoms of sex cord-stromal tumors produce hormones that can affect the development of secondary sex characteristics. Sex cord-stromal tumors in prepubertal children may be manifested by early puberty; abdominal pain and distension are also common. Adolescents with sex cord-stromal tumors may experience amenorrhea. As the cancer becomes more advanced, it can cause an accumulation of fluid in the abdomen. If the malignancy has not been diagnosed by the time it causes ascites, it is typically diagnosed shortly thereafter. Advanced cancers can also cause abdominal masses, lymph node masses, or pleural effusion.
Endometrial cancer is a cancer that arises from the endometrium (the lining of the uterus or womb). It is the result of the abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. The first sign is most often vaginal bleeding not associated with a menstrual period. Other symptoms include pain with urination, pain during sexual intercourse, or pelvic pain. Endometrial cancer occurs most commonly after menopause.
Approximately 40% of cases are related to obesity. Endometrial cancer is also associated with excessive estrogen exposure, high blood pressure and diabetes. Whereas taking estrogen alone increases the risk of endometrial cancer, taking both estrogen and a progestogen in combination, as in most birth control pills, decreases the risk. Between two and five percent of cases are related to genes inherited from the parents. Endometrial cancer is sometimes loosely referred to as "uterine cancer", although it is distinct from other forms of uterine cancer such as cervical cancer, uterine sarcoma, and trophoblastic disease. The most frequent type of endometrial cancer is endometrioid carcinoma, which accounts for more than 80% of cases. Endometrial cancer is commonly diagnosed by endometrial biopsy or by taking samples during a procedure known as dilation and curettage. A pap smear is not typically sufficient to show endometrial cancer. Regular screening in those at normal risk is not called for.
The leading treatment option for endometrial cancer is abdominal hysterectomy (the total removal by surgery of the uterus), together with removal of the fallopian tubes and ovaries on both sides, called a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. In more advanced cases, radiation therapy, chemotherapy or hormone therapy may also be recommended. If the disease is diagnosed at an early stage, the outcome is favorable, and the overall five-year survival rate in the United States is greater than 80%.
In 2012, endometrial cancers newly occurred in 320,000 women and caused 76,000 deaths. This makes it the third most common cause of death in cancers which only affect women, behind ovarian and cervical cancer. It is more common in the developed world and is the most common cancer of the female reproductive tract in developed countries. Rates of endometrial cancer have risen in a number of countries between the 1980s and 2010. This is believed to be due to the increasing number of elderly people and increasing rates of obesity.
Uterine serous carcinoma (USC), also known as uterine papillary serous carcinoma (UPSC) and uterine serous adenocarcinoma, is an uncommon form of endometrial cancer that typically arises in postmenopausal women.
It is typically diagnosed on endometrial biopsy, prompted by post-menopausal bleeding.
Unlike the more common low-grade "endometrioid endometrial adenocarcinoma", USC does not develop from endometrial hyperplasia and is not hormone-sensitive. It arises in the setting of endometrial atrophy and is classified as a type II endometrial cancer.
They often cause no symptoms. Where they occur, symptoms include irregular menstrual bleeding, bleeding between menstrual periods, excessively heavy menstrual bleeding (menorrhagia), and vaginal bleeding after menopause. Bleeding from the blood vessels of the polyp contributes to an increase of blood loss during menstruation and blood "spotting" between menstrual periods, or after menopause. If the polyp protrudes through the cervix into the vagina, pain (dysmenorrhea) may result.
The lesion is found in patients who present typically with abnormal or postmenopausal bleeding or discharge. Such bleeding is followed by further evaluation leading to a tissue diagnosis, usually done by a dilatation and curettage (D&C). A work-up to follow would look for metastasis using imaging technology including sonography and MRI. The median age at diagnosis in a large study was 66 years. Histologically the lesion may coexist with classical endometrial cancer.
The lesion is found in patients who present typically with abnormal or postmenopausal bleeding. Such bleeding is followed by further evaluation leading to a tissue diagnosis, usually done by a dilatation and curettage (D&C). A work-up to follow would look for metastasis using imaging technology including sonography and MRI. The median age at diagnosis in a study of 138 women was 67 years, of these 54 had stage I, 20 stage II, 41 stage III, and 23 stage IV disease.
Histopathologically, uterine serous carcinomas is typically characterized by (1) nipple-shaped structures (papillae) with fibrovascular cores (2) marked nuclear atypia (irregularies in the nuclear membrane, enlarged nuclear size), (3) psammoma bodies and (4) cilia.
An endometrial polyp or uterine polyp is a mass in the inner lining of the uterus. They may have a large flat base (sessile) or be attached to the uterus by an elongated (pedunculated). Pedunculated polyps are more common than sessile ones. They range in size from a few millimeters to several centimeters. If pedunculated, they can protrude through the cervix into the vagina. Small blood vessels may be present, particularly in large polyps.
The terms uterine cancer and womb cancer may refer to any of several different types of cancer which occur in the uterus, namely:
- Endometrial cancer:
- Cervical cancer arises from the transformation zone of the cervix, the lower portion of the uterus and connects to the upper aspect of the vagina.
- Uterine sarcomas: sarcomas of the myometrium, or muscular layer of the uterus, are most commonly leiomyosarcomas.
- Gestational trophoblastic disease relates to neoplastic processes originating from tissue of a pregnancy that often is located in the uterus.
Unusual or postmenopausal bleeding may be a sign of a malignancy including uterine sarcoma and needs to be investigated. Other signs include pelvic pain, pressure, and unusual discharge. A nonpregnant uterus that enlarges quickly is suspicious. However, none of the signs are specific. Specific screening test have not been developed; a Pap smear is a screening test for cervical cancer and not designed to detect uterine sarcoma.
Endometrial stromal sarcoma is a malignant subtype of endometrial stromal tumor arising from the stroma (connective tissue) of the endometrium rather than the glands. There are three grades for endometrial stromal tumors, as follows. It was previously known as "endolymphatic stromal myosis" because of diffuse infiltration of myometrial tissue or the invasion of lymphatic channels.
Vaginal cancer is any type of cancer that forms in the tissues of the vagina. Primary vaginal cancer is rare in the general population of women and is usually a squamous-cell carcinoma. Metastases are more common. Vaginal cancer occurs more often in women over age 50, but can occur at any age, even in infancy. It often can be cured if found and treated in early stages. Surgery alone or surgery combined with pelvic radiation is typically used to treat vaginal cancer.
Uterine cancer, also known as womb cancer, is any type of cancer that emerges from the tissue of the uterus. It can refer to several types of cancer, with cervical cancer (arising from the lower portion of the uterus) being the most common type worldwide and the second most common cancer in women in developing countries. Endometrial cancer (or cancer of the inner lining of the uterus) is the second most common type, and fourth most common cancer in women from developed countries.
Risk factors depend on specific type, but obesity, older age, and human papillomavirus infection add the greatest risk of developing uterine cancer. Early on, there may be no symptoms, but irregular vaginal bleeding, pelvic pain or fullness may develop. If caught early, most types of uterine cancer can be cured using surgical or medical methods. When the cancer has extended beyond the uterine tissue, more advanced treatments including combinations of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or surgery may be required.
Endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia (EIN) is a premalignant lesion of the uterine lining that predisposes to endometrioid endometrial adenocarcinoma. It is composed of a collection of abnormal endometrial cells, arising from the glands that line the uterus, which have a tendency over time to progress to the most common form of uterine cancer—endometrial adenocarcinoma, endometrioid type.
EIN lesions have been discovered by a combination of molecular, histologic, and clinical outcome studies beginning in the 1990s which provide a multifaceted characterization of this disease. They are a subset of a larger mixed group of lesions previously called "endometrial hyperplasia". The EIN diagnostic schema is intended to replace the previous "endometrial hyperplasia" classification as defined by the World Health Organization in 1994, which have been separated into benign (benign endometrial hyperplasia) and premalignant (EIN) classes in accordance with their behavior and clinical management.
EIN should not be confused with an unrelated entity, serous intraepithelial carcinoma ("serous EIC"), which is an early stage of a different tumor type known as papillary serous adenocarcinoma that also occurs in the same location within the uterus.
Endometrial stromal tumors are a group of stromal tumors of the uterus of low to high-grade of malignity.
Uterine clear-cell carcinoma (CC) is a rare form of endometrial cancer with distinct morphological features on pathology; it is aggressive and has high recurrence rate. Like uterine papillary serous carcinoma CC does not develop from endometrial hyperplasia and is not hormone sensitive, rather it arises from an atrophic endometrium. Such lesions belong to the type II endometrial cancers.
Low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma consists of cells resembling normal proliferative phase endometrium, but with infiltration or vascular invasion. These behave less aggressively, sometimes metastasizing, with cancer stage the best predictor of survival. The cells express estrogen/progesterone-receptors.
Cervical polyps often show no symptoms. Where there are symptoms, they include intermenstrual bleeding, abnormally heavy menstrual bleeding (menorrhagia), vaginal bleeding in post-menopausal women, bleeding after sex and thick white vaginal or yellowish discharge (leukorrhoea).
Endometrial hyperplasia is a condition of excessive proliferation of the cells of the endometrium, or inner lining of the uterus.
Most cases of endometrial hyperplasia result from high levels of estrogens, combined with insufficient levels of the progesterone-like hormones which ordinarily counteract estrogen's proliferative effects on this tissue. This may occur in a number of settings, including obesity, polycystic ovary syndrome, estrogen producing tumours (e.g. granulosa cell tumour) and certain formulations of estrogen replacement therapy. Endometrial hyperplasia is a significant risk factor for the development or even co-existence of endometrial cancer, so careful monitoring and treatment of women with this disorder is essential.
Benign tumors of the ovary include ovarian cysts, such as borderline tumor cysts.
Adenomyosis can vary widely in the type and severity of symptoms that it causes, ranging from being entirely asymptomatic 33% of the time to being a severe and debilitating condition in some cases. Women with adenomyosis typically first report symptoms when they are between 40 and 50, but symptoms can occur in younger women.
Symptoms and the estimated percent affected may include:
- Chronic pelvic pain (77%)
- Heavy menstrual bleeding (40-60%), which is more common with in women with deeper adenomyosis. Blood loss may be significant enough to cause anemia, with associated symptoms of fatigue, dizziness, and moodiness.
- Abnormal uterine bleeding
- Painful cramping menstruation (15-30%)
- Painful vaginal intercourse (7%)
- A 'bearing' down feeling
- Pressure on bladder
- Dragging sensation down thighs and legs
Clinical signs of adenomyosis may include:
- Uterine enlargement (30%), which in turn can lead to symptoms of pelvic fullness.
- Tender uterus
- Infertility or sub-fertility (11-12%) - In addition, adenomyosis is associated with an increased incidence of preterm labour and premature rupture of membranes.
Women with adenomyosis are also more likely to have other uterine conditions, including:
- Uterine fibroids (50%)
- Endometriosis (11%)
- Endometrial polyp (7%)