Ovarian Cancer Symptoms

  Ovarian cancer, a collective term for ovarian malignancies, is one of the three major gynecological malignancies along with cervical cancer and endometrial cancer. The most common is ovarian epithelial carcinoma, which accounts for 85-90%, such as plasmacytic cystic adenocarcinoma, mucinous cystic adenocarcinoma, and ovarian endometrioid carcinoma. They are followed by immature teratoma, asexual cell tumor, and yolk cystic tumor.  Ovarian cancer is often asymptomatic in the early stage. In late stage, the main symptoms are abdominal distension, abdominal mass, fluid in the abdominal cavity and other gastrointestinal symptoms; some patients may show cachexia such as emaciation, weakness, severe anemia and pestle-like fingers on both hands. Infiltration or compression of tumor into surrounding tissues may cause abdominal pain, lumbago or lower limb pain; compression of pelvic vein may cause lower limb edema; irregular vaginal bleeding or postmenopausal bleeding may occur in functional tumor unit. The masses are mostly bilateral, solid or cystic, with uneven surface, poor activity and poor demarcation with the uterus, often accompanied by fluid in the abdominal cavity. Sometimes enlarged lymph nodes can be palpated in the groin, axilla or supraclavicular region.  Ovarian cancer may have complications such as torsion, rupture, infection and malignant transformation. Tendon torsion is a common gynecologic emergency abdominal disease, which can occur in about 10% of ovarian tumors. The typical symptom is sudden onset of severe pain in one side of lower abdomen after position change, often accompanied by nausea and vomiting, or even shock; rupture, about 3% of ovarian tumors will rupture, divided into spontaneous and traumatic rupture; infection, less common, mostly secondary to torsion and rupture; malignant change, if ovarian cancer grows rapidly, consider the possibility of malignant change.