Chapter 16 - Postmenopausal bleeding and endometrial cancer

Summary

This chapter discusses the diagnosis, evaluation, staging and prognosis and treatment of postmenopausal bleeding and endometrial cancer. The primary symptom of endometrial cancer (ECa) is postmenopausal bleeding (PMB). A physical examination of PMB should look for vaginal and cervical abnormalities, polyps, masses, uterine size and symmetry, or ovarian masses. ECa (cancer of the body or corpus of the uterus) is the fourth most common malignancy in women in the USA, and seventh most common cause of cancer deaths in women. Prognostic factors are related to age, race, endocrine status, histological cell type, tumor grade, depth of myometrial invasion, extension beyond the uterus, adnexal metastases, and extrauterine and peritoneal spread. PMB has a variety of causes, one of which is endometrial cancer. Endometrial cancer is usually discovered at an early stage, is curable, and is usually a disease of postmenopausal women.