Postmenopausal bleeding Flashcards
What is the definition of postmenopausal bleeding?
vaginal bleeding occurring after 12 months of amnoerrhoea, in women at the age where the menopause can be expected or women who have experienced premature ovarian failure or premature menopause
What is the most important thing to rule out in cases of postmenopausal bleeding?
endometrial malignancy
What is the most common cause of postmenopausal bleeding?
vaginal atrophy
What is vaginal atrophy?
thinning, drying and inflammation of the walls of the vagina due to a reduction in oestrogen following the menopause
What are 10 causes of postmenopausal bleeding?
- Vaginal atrophy
- HRT
- Endometrial hyperplasia
- Endometrial cancer
- Cervical cancer
- Ovarian cancer
- Vaginal cancer
- Trauma
- Vulval cancer
- Bleeding disorders
What can occur due to HRT causing PMB?
periods or spotting can continue in some women for many months with no pathological cause, or endometrial hyperplasia due to long-term oestrogen therapy may occur
What is a protective factor against endometrial hyperplasia?
use of the combined oral contraceptive pill
What proportion of patients with postmenopausal bleeding have endometrial cancer? What proportion of it presents with bleeding?
10%; 90% of it presents with PMB
Which type of ovarian cancer is particularly likely to cause postmenopausal bleeding?
oestrogen-secreting (theca cell) tumours
What is the management for all causes of postmenopausal bleeding?
all women over age of 55 with PMB must be investigation within 2 weeks by ultrasound for endometrial cancer - transvaginal ultrasound best
What are 9 things to ask about in the history for postmenopausal bleeding?
- Timing of bleeding
- Quantity of bleeding
- Consistency of bleeding
- Full gynaecological history
- Full obstetric history
- Risk factors for endometrial cancer
- Menstrual timeline from menarche to menopause
- Full drug history - including HRT
- Red flag symptoms for gynae cancer
What examination should be performed for postmenopausal cancer?
full vaginal and abdominal examination, looking for any masses or abnormalities within abdomen or felt from within the vagina, as well as speculum visualisation of walls of vagina and cervix
may see blood or discharge
What are 3 immediate tests that can be performed when a woman consults with PMB?
- Urine dipstick - haematuria or infection
- FBC - anaemia, bleeding disorder
- Ca-125 blood test
What is the type of ultrasound of choice for women referred on the 2 week cancer pathway who present with PMB?
transvaginal ultrasound
What is assessed on ultrasound of the uterus when women are referred on the 2 week pathway for PMB?
thickness of the endometrial lining; acceptable depth <5mm (sometimes said to be 4?)
this may miss some pathology so if clinical suspicion high, further testing required
How is a definitive diagnosis of endometrial cancer made?
- endometrial biopsy either during hysteroscopy or by aspiration (pipelle) biopsy as outpatient
- pipelle biopsy: thin flexible tube inserted into uterus via speculum to remove cells for testing
What imaging for gynaecological cancer may be performed?
CT or MRI of uterus, pelvis and abdomen, in secondary care
If a woman presents with PMB and is HRT what should be done?
still need to investigate for endometrial cancer with transvaginal ultrasound of endometrial thickness
What is the treatment for vaginal atrophy? 3 aspects
topical oestrogens, conservative measures like lubrication for symptoms, HRT
If a bleed is due to the type of HRT that a patient is on (and there is no endometrial hyperplasia/carcinoma) what is a management option?
different HRT preparations can be used to try and reduce it
What is the usual management of endometrial hyperplasia?
dilatation and curettage to remove excess endometrial tissue
What is the definition of endometrial hyperplasia?
abnormal proliferation of endometrium in excess of the normal proliferation that occurs during hte menstrual cycle
What are 4 types of endometrial hyperplasia?
- Simple
- Complex
- Simple atypical
- Complex atypical
What is the commonest type of endometrial tumour?
adenocarcinomas (arising from endometrial glands)
What are 11 risk factors for endometrial carcinoma?
- Obesity (especially upper body)
- Diabetes mellitus
- Nulliparity
- Late menopause
- Unopposed oestrogen therapy
- Tamoxifen
- Oesotrgen-secreting tumours (granulosa/theca cell ovarian tumours)
- Carbohydrate intolerance
- PCOS
- Personal history of breast or colon cancer
- Family history of breast, colon or endometrial cancer
What are 2 factors that decrease the risk of endometrial cancer?
- Combined oral contraceptive pill
- Progestogens
What causes high levels of oestrogen in obesity?
aromatisation in body fat of peripheral androgens to oestrogens
What proportion of cases of endometrial cancer are thought to be related to obesity?
a third
What is thought to be the relationship of diabetes/hypertension and endometrial cancer?
possibly result of increased incidence of obesity in these groups, but role of insulin has been questioned
By what factor does unopposed HRT increase the risk of endometrial cancer?
4x (reduced to <1.0x with opposed HRT)
Why is the use of the COCP thought to reduce the risk of endometrial cancer?
probably because it administers progestogens throughout the cycle
Why do smokers have a lower incidence of endometrial cancer?
they are more likely to reach an earlier menopause
What are 2 broad types of endometrial cancer?
- Type I: seen around time of menopause or soon after, tumour cells have oestrogen and progesterone receptors
- Type II: not related to oestrogen production, seen in older women
How does the prognosis of type I endometrial cancer compare with type II and why?
much poorer prognosis for type II; type II progress more rapidly, not associated with hyperplastic or in situ phase whereas type I has premalignant change, slower growth
What is the cardinal symptom of endometrial carcinoma?
abnormal uterine bleeding - most commonly postmenopausal
any irregular uterine bleeding in those over 40 (especially if obese/ other risk factors) should be investigated
What are 4 symptoms of endometrial cancer?
- Postmenopausal bleeding
- Irregular uterine bleeding pre-menopause
- Vaginal discharge - blood stained, watery or purulent
- Can present with abnormal cells on a smear consistent with endometrial origin
What does pain in endometrial cancer usually indicate?
metastatic spread - rarely associated with early disease
What is the mode of spread of endometrial cancer?
principally direct spread, usually involves myometrium
cervix, fallopian tubes as well as local supporting tissues (parametrium) can also become involved with more locally advanced cases
lymphatic and haematogenous spread may also occur
What are the 4 main methods of investigation for endometrial cancer?
- Transvaginal ultrasound scanning
- Endometrial biopsy
- Dilatation and curettage
- Hysteroscopy
How is dilatation and curettage for endometrial cancer performed?
carried out under general anaesthesia, combined with hysteroscopy
cervix dilated to allow introduction of sharp curette, instrument that scrapes of endometrium for histological analysis
How commonly is dilatation and curettage now performed in suspected endometrial cancer?
used to be standard of care but rarely used alone now - combined with hysteroscopy in cases where additional investigations are required
What does hysteroscopy involve to investigate endometrial cancer?
visualising inside of uterine cavity directly using a hysteroscope (fine telescope), can be introduced with or without anaesthesia depending on the instrument and the local facilities
biopsy or curettage can be performed as same time
What is the gold standard investigation for endometrial cancer?
hysteroscopy with biopsy
What is endometrial hyperplasia?
increased number of endometrial cells due to proliferation and this results in a thicker endometrium
terms cystic glandular hyperplasia/simple hyperplasia/glandular hyperplasia/ endometrial hyperplasia are synonymous
What is the binary classification of endometrial hyperplasia?
with or without atypia
What might it be difficult to distinguish severe atypia in the hyperplastic state from?
well-differentiated carcinoma
What is needed for a diagnosis of endometrial hyperplasia?
should be increase in gland-to-stromal ratio
glands may vary in size and shape or may branch abnormally
What is seen on histology in hyperplasia with atypia? 3 things
- loss of polarity of cells within the glands
- increase in nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio
- nuclear irregularity with hyperchromatic changes, chromatin clumping and prominent nucleoli
How can benign endometrial lesions be differentiated from those with invasive potentia?
atypia - if prseent, likely to become invasive
What proportion of patients with endometrial hyperplasia with atypia will develop carcinoma?
10-20% will in 10 years
How is endometrial hyperplasia usually discovered?
endometrial biopsy as part of investigation of abnormal uterine bleeding
In which group of patients does simple endometrial hyperplasia typically occur?
anovulatory teenagers, and perimenopausal years