Understanding the initial diagnosis, surgical indications and outcome of cervical cancer

  The diagnosis of cervical cancer in the middle and late stages is not difficult to be confirmed based on medical history and clinical manifestations. However, in early stage cases, due to the atypical manifestation of cancer foci, it is sometimes easy to misdiagnose or miss the diagnosis. Therefore, detailed medical history, meticulous gynecological examination and necessary auxiliary examinations are needed to confirm the diagnosis, which can be helped by the following methods: 1. General examination Besides general system examination, special attention should be paid to check the lymph node system, which is a common site of distant metastasis of cervical cancer.  2.Gynecological examination Detailed and comprehensive gynecological examination can be the main basis for diagnosis of cervical cancer, and can also determine the clinical stage of the disease, so as to decide the treatment plan and assess the prognosis.  (1) Visual examination should be performed under sufficient lighting conditions, including direct observation of vulva and vagina and cervix through vaginal speculum, including vulva examination, whether the vaginal mucosa is smooth, broken and hard; besides general observation, attention should be paid to the size of cervix, whether the surface is smooth, texture, bleeding and blood on palpation; location, scope, shape, volume and relationship with surrounding tissues of tumor, scope of cancer infiltration; size, mobility and location of uterus; placement of speculum When placing the speculum, avoid touching the tumor and causing bleeding.  (2) Palpation The texture, infiltration range and the relationship between the tumor and its surroundings should be noted, which must be determined by palpation. For some submucosal and cervical canal infiltrations, palpation is more accurate than visual diagnosis. This is an indispensable step in the diagnosis of gynecological tumors. Attention should be paid to the infiltration of paravaginal, paracervical and parametrial tissues, the texture and its degree, the relationship between the tumor and the pelvic wall, the uterosacral ligament, the utero-rectal fossa, the rectum itself and the surrounding conditions, all of which are judged by triple diagnosis.  (3) Cervicovaginal cytological smear examination It is the main means to detect early cervical cancer at present, and has been widely used in cancer prevention and screening. Especially for the diagnosis of early stage cervical cancer which is not easily detected clinically, vaginal cytology smear examination plays an extremely important role. Currently, conventional Pap smear and liquid-based smear are used in clinical practice.  (4) Histological examination The diagnosis of cervical cancer must be confirmed by biopsy: Bite method Generally, biopsy specimens are obtained by bite method, if the lesion site is not shown, iodine test or colposcopy can be used to indicate the bite site.  Excisional method The excisional method is used when the diagnosis is not confirmed by repeated biting biopsies and further deeper tissues are needed.  Endocervical canal scraping method When the surface biopsy of the cervix is negative, the vaginal cytology smear is positive or when cervical canal cancer cannot be clinically excluded, endocervical canal scraping biopsy can be performed.  Cervical cone excision method When the vaginal cytology examination is abnormal several times and none of the above methods is confirmed, and cancer still cannot be ruled out clinically, or when cancer is found but the presence or absence of infiltration and the depth of infiltration cannot be determined, and the diagnosis needs to be confirmed clinically, cervical cone excision is feasible.  Multi-point biopsy method Especially under colposcopy can often replace conical resection.  Treatment for cervical cancer includes surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and the combination of multiple modalities. Individualized treatment plan should be considered based on clinical stage, patient’s age, general condition, combined with patient’s specific conditions, hospital medical technology level and equipment conditions. Numerous studies have shown that the treatment effects of radical surgery alone and radical radiotherapy alone for early stage cervical cancer patients (stage I-IIA) are comparable, and the annual survival rate, mortality rate and complication rate are similar. However, the prognosis of some of these patients with poor prognostic factors is still poor, and the annual survival rate can be reduced to 0% or even lower. The factors affecting the prognosis after surgery for early cervical cancer include large cervical tumor size, lymph node metastasis, positive cut margins, choroidal aneurysm embolism, parametrial infiltration and depth of myxomatous infiltration. Clinical research shows that the rational application of surgery, radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy can effectively improve the outcome of early-stage cervical cancer.  Indications for surgery: Suitable for early stage (stage 0, stage I and stage II) patients who are young and do not have other serious diseases.  Surgical methods: 1.Vertebroplasty or total hysterectomy: Applicable to carcinoma in situ.  2.Extensive hysterectomy: applicable to patients with stage 0, stage Ia and stage Ib. This kind of surgery has less complications and good curative effect.  3.Extensive hysterectomy pelvic lymph node dissection: applicable to stage Ia and some stage IIb patients. Since the complications of pelvic lymph node dissection are high and the number of patients who really need pelvic lymph node dissection is few, the trend of individual treatment has recently shifted, and the scope of surgery will be decided according to the scope of lesions in clinical examination combined with surgical exploration.  4.Transepithelial or laparoscopic extensive hysterectomy pelvic lymph node dissection: for stage Ia1~Ⅰb, young patients with tumor diameter <2cm who have not had children can be selected.  5.Pelvic organ removal: this operation is very damaging and the efficacy is not very satisfactory, so it is rarely used.  The efficacy and advantages of surgical treatment: the surgical findings and specimens can help to decide whether radiotherapy or chemotherapy is needed after surgery; surgery has a shorter course than radiotherapy and fewer long-term complications; young patients can retain normal ovarian and vaginal functions and have less impact on future sexual function; especially transabdominal or laparoscopic extensive hysterectomy with pelvic lymph node dissection, which has the greatest advantage of treating cervical cancer while As the incidence of cervical cancer is getting younger, this surgery is receiving more and more clinical attention and is regarded as a sign of development of cervical cancer surgery in the 1st century. Disadvantages of surgical treatment: the operation is extensive and traumatic, and serious complications may occur during and after the operation, such as bleeding during and after the operation, organ damage, postoperative pelvic infection, urinary retention, ureterovaginal leakage, and even surgical death in severe cases.