Session 11: Tumours of the Reproductive Tracts NOT FINISHED Flashcards
Where might you find tumours in the female reproductive tracts?
Vulva
Cervix
Endometrium
Myometrium
Ovaries
What is a tumour?
Any clinically detectable lump or swelling. A neoplasm is just one type of tumour.
What is a neoplasm?
An abnormal growth of cells that persists after the initial stimulus is removed.
What is a malignant neoplasm?
An abnormal gorwth of cells that persists after the initial stimulus is removed and invades surrounding tissue with potential to spread to distant sites.
Most common vulval cancers.
Squamous cell carcinoma (90%)
Basal cell carcinoma
Melanoma
Soft tissue tumours
Clinical features of vulval cancers.
Lumps
Ulceration
Skin changes
What might you find upon histological investigation of squamous cell carcinoma of vulva?
Atypical squamous cells and keratin formation
What is vulval intraepithelial neoplasia a potential precursor of?
Squamous cell carcinoma
What is the main causative factor of squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva in pre-menopausal women?
HPV
Where does the SCC spread?
Direct to anus, vagina and bladder
Lymph nodes such as inguinal, iliac and para-aortic
Distant metastases to lung and liver
What is the causative agent of vulval squamous cell carcinoma in older women?
Not known but probably related to chronic irritation and long standing dermatoses such as lichen sclerosus.
What is dysplasia?
A pre-neoplastic alteration in which cells show disordered tissue organisation.
It is not neoplastic because the change is reversible.
What type of cancer is most common of the cervix?
Squamous cell carcinomas (80%)
15% are adenocarcinomas
Most common causative agent of cervical cancer.
Almost exclusively HPV (99.5%)
What does squamous cell carcinoma develop from?
Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN)
Explain how HPV causes cancer of the cervix.
Infect the transformation zone
Produce viral proteins E6 and E7 that inactivate TSGs p53 and Rb.
This leads to uncontrolled cellular proliferation.
Risk factors for CIN and cervical carcinoma
Increased risk of exposure to HPV such as sexual partner with HPV, multiple partners or early age of first intercourse.
Early first pregnancy
Multiple births
Smoking
Low socio-economic status
Immunosuppression
Treatment for CIN
Depends on which stage of CIN.
Treatment of CIN1.
Most commonly regress spontaneously but is followed up by a cervical smear in 1 year time.
Treatment of CIN 2&3.
Needs treatment and is done by large loop excision of transformation zone.
What is the cervical screening programme?
Brush is used to scrape cells from the transformation zone to detect abnormally enlarged nuclei possessing abnormal chromatin. If this is positive there is referral to colposcopy.
You also test for HPV.
Aged 25-49 = every 3 years
Aged 50-64 = every 5 years
Over 65 = only if recent abnormality
What is vaccination against HPV?
Given in girls aged 12-13 and becomes more common in boys as well.
Protects from cervical, vulval, oral and anal cancers.
How do carcinomas of cervix spread?
Spreads initially to iliac and aortic lymph nodes before wider systemic dissemination.
Spread locally to ureters, bladder, and rectum.
Can be extremely distressing with pain and fistula formation
Clinical presentation of invasive cervical cancer.
Bleeding post coital, intermenstrual and post menopausal.
Mass felt
Treatment of invasive cervical cancer.
Hysterectomy
Lymph node dissection
+/- chemoradiation
What types of endometrial cancers are there?
Endometrioid adenocarcinoma
Serous adenocarcinoma
What does endometrioid adenocarcinoma commonly arise from?
Endometrial hyperplasia
Which age group is generally affected by endometrioid adenocarcinoma?
Perimenopausal and older women.
Aetiology of endometrial adenocarcinoma in perimenopausal women.
Unopposed oestrogen from obesity, exogenous oestrogen administration like HRT.
Tamoxifen
Hormone-secreting tumour
Polycystic ovarian syndrome
Early menarche/late menopause (longer exposure to oestrogen)
How can obesity cause a higher risk of endometrial hyperplasia and endometrial adenocarcinoma?
Peripheral adipocytes cause conversion of androgen to oestrogen leading to higher oestrogen levels.
Clinical presentation of endometrial cancer.
Bleeding that is post menopausal.
Intermenstrual bleeding
Mass
How do serous adenocarcinomas differ to endometrioid carcinoma?
Serous are less common and more aggressive.
What is the spread of endometrioid adenocarcinoma?
Cervix, bladder and rectum.
Through the peritoneal cavity and to the regional lymph nodes.
Spread of serous adenocarcinoma.
Travels through fallopian tubes.
Deposits on peritoneal surface via transcoelomic spread.
Associated with collections of calcium called psammoma bodies.
Management of endometrial cancer.
Hysterectomy
Bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy
+/- lymph node dissection
+/- chemoradiotherapy
What are fibroids?
Leiomyoma which are the most common of the myometrium and benign.