Online Medical Clinic

Cervical Cancer and Uterine Cancer

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide. Cervical cancer is caused by several types of a virus called human papillomaviruses (HPV). The virus spreads through sexual contact. There are 2 main types of cervical cancers: squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. Cervical cancers and cervical precancers are classified by how they look under a microscope. Cervical cancer is a carcinoma, typically composed of squamous cells, and is similar in some respects to squamous cell cancers of the head and neck and anus. Approximately 10-15% of cases develop in glandular surface cells (called adenocarcinomas). However, approximately 1,450 Canadian women will receive a diagnosis this year of invasive cervical cancer, and approximately 420 women will die from this disease.  Most (80-90%) invasive cervical cancer develops in flat, scaly surface cells that line the cervix (called squamous cell carcinomas).  Women in developing countries account for about 85 percent of both the yearly cases of cervical cancer.

Genital warts are caused by different HPV types, and are not related to cervical cancer. Risk factors for cervical cancer: human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, smoking, HIV infection, chlamydia infection, dietary factors, oral contraceptives, multiple pregnancies, use of the hormonal drug diethylstilbestrol (DES) and a family history of cervical cancer. A weak immune system. Most women who are infected with HPV never develop cervical cancer. Regular screening with a Pap smear effectively lowers the risk for developing invasive cervical cancer by detecting precancerous changes in cervical cells. Symptoms of advanced cervical cancer may include: loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue, pelvic pain, back pain, leg pain, single swollen leg, heavy bleeding from the vagina, leaking of urine or feces from the vagina and bone fractures.

Treatment of cervical cancer depends on the stage of the cancer, the size and shape of the tumor, the age and general health of the woman, and her desire to have children in the future. Microinvasive cancer (stage IA) is usually treated by hysterectomy (removal of the whole uterus including part of the vagina). Hysterectomy (removal of the uterus but not the ovaries) is not often performed for cervical cancer that has not spread. Radiation may be used to treat cancer that has spread beyond the pelvis, or cancer that has returned. Radiation therapy is either external or internal. Internal radiation therapy uses a device filled with radioactive material, which is placed inside the woman’s vagina next to the cervical cancer. Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer. Some of the drugs used for chemotherapy for cervical cancer include 5-FU, Cisplatin, Carboplatin, Ifosfamide, Paclitaxel, and Cyclophosphamide.

Treatments for Cervical Cancer Tips

1. Surgery is often the main treatment for cancer of the cervix in its early stages.

2. Radiotherapy is as effective as surgery in this situation but can cause more side effects.

3. Chemotherapy is occasionally used before surgery, to shrink the cancer and make the operation easier.

Lung Cancer Treatment Tips

Mycoplasma infection is respiratory illness caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae. M. pneumoniae is a common cause of mild pneumonia that usually affects people younger than 40. Mycoplasmal organisms are usually associated with mucosal surfaces, residing extracellularly in the respiratory and urogenital tracts. They rarely penetrate the submucosa, except in the case of immunosuppression or instrumentation, when they may invade the bloodstream and disseminate to different organs and tissues throughout the body. Mycoplasma infections are most common in the 5 to 20 age range, though the disease is usually more dangerous among the middle-aged and elderly. An epidemic occurs every three to five years. At least 17 species of Mycoplasma from humans, 4 types of organisms are responsible for most clinically significant infections that may come to the attention of practicing physicians. These species are Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Mycoplasma hominis, Mycoplasma genitalium, and Ureaplasma species.

Mycoplasma infections occur sporadically throughout the year. Widespread community outbreaks may occur at intervals of four to eight years. Mycoplasma infection is most common in late summer and fall. The common misconception that M pneumoniae disease is rare among very young populations and among older adults has led to physician failure to consider the organism in the differential diagnoses of respiratory tract infections in persons in these age groups. Mycoplasma is spread through contact with droplets from the nose and throat of infected people when they cough and sneeze. Colonization with Ureaplasma organisms and M hominis occurs primarily as a result of sexual contact. Both have been found more often in women than in men and more often in infant girls than in infant boys. Transmission is thought to require prolonged close contact with an infected person. Spread in families, schools and institutions occurs slowly. 

Mycoplasma Infections of the middle ear (otitis media) also can  result. Symptoms may persist for a few days to more than a month. Ear pain and nasal congestion may occur. Mycoplasmas can become a parasite in plants, insects, animals, and humans, and can trigger different diseases. Mycoplasma infection is usually diagnosed on the basis of typical symptoms. Mycoplasma infections will be treated with antibiotics. Antibiotics such as erythromycin, clarithromycin or azithromycin are effective treatment. Pleuromutilins such as Econor are powerful new anti-mycoplasmal agents which provide an additional therapeutic option when patients fail to respond to conventional antibiotics. Low levels of mycoplasma infection were shown not to persist by repeat testing after growth without antibiotics.

Lung Cancer Treatment Tips 

1. Mycoplasma infections will be treated with antibiotics.

2. Antibiotics such as erythromycin, clarithromycin or azithromycin are effective treatment.

3. Pleuromutilins such as Econor are powerful new anti-mycoplasmal agents which provide an additional therapeutic option.

Uterine Cancer

Uterine Cancer also called is  endometrial cancer. Endometrial cancer is cancer that starts in the endometrium, the lining of the uterus (womb). strogen helps stimulate the buildup of the epithelial lining of the uterus. Uterine cancer usually occurs after menopause.  Most cases of endometrial cancer occur between the ages of 60 and 70 years, but a few cases may occur before age 40. Endometrial cancer is one of the most common cancers in American women. Endometrial cancer is more common in white women when compared to black women.  These form much less common cancers called sarcomas and account for less than 5 percent of uterine cancers.

Endometrial cancer is most common after the reproductive years, between the ages of 60 and 70. Endometrial cancer is sometimes called uterine cancer, but there are other cells in the uterus that can become cancerous — such as muscle or myometrial cells. Endometrial adenocarcinoma is histologically characterized by cribriform glands (or glandular crowding) with little, if any, stromal tissue between the glands. Most women recognize the need for prompt evaluation, although only 10-20% of women with PMP vaginal bleeding have a gynecologic malignancy.

Uterine sarcomas can present in a similar fashion to endometrial carcinomas. LMS may present in women early in the sixth decade of life with irregular menses or PMP bleeding. For uterine sarcoma, therapy with high-dose x-rays (external beam radiation therapy) to the pelvis can be one risk factor for sarcoma of the uterus. Obesity is linked to a 10 times greater risk of getting uterine cancer. Older Age (after menopause) is a factor for developing uterine cancer. Childless women are more likely to get uterine (and breast) cancer, since they have more “unopposed estrogen stimulation of the uterus. Birth Control Pills containing only estrogen stimulate the uterine lining and thus increase the risk of cancer. Heredity– Women who’s mothers or maternal aunts have uterine or breast cancer are at increased risk. Hyperplasia (thickening) of the uterine lining, especially when the cells look abnormal, can raise the chance of getting uterine cancer to 20%. Radiation Exposure is a rare, but possible cause of uterine cancers, especially those arising from the muscular wall of the uterus. 

Endometrial cancer may originate in a small area (eg, within an endometrial polyp) or in a diffuse multifocal pattern. Early tumor growth is characterized by an exophytic and spreading pattern. Treatment options involve surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Exploratory surgery with staging is the treatment of choice in stage I and early stage II disease. Radiation therapy is the use of high-energy x-rays or other particles to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy travels through the bloodstream to tumor cells throughout the body.  Hormone therapy is used to slow the growth of uterine cancer cells. Hormone therapy for uterine cancer involves the sex hormone, progesterone, given in a pill form. It may be used for women who cannot have surgery or radiation therapy. Brachytherapy is another form of radiation that involves the internal application of radiation, usually to the inner lining of the uterus. Brachytherapy has significantly fewer side effects than conventional radiation therapy does.

Treatments for Uterine Cancer Tips

1. Surgery.

2. Radiation therapy.

3. Hysterectomy may be performed in women with the early stage 1 disease.

4. Abdominal hysterectomy is recommended over vaginal hysterectomy.

5. Brachytherapy is another form of radiation that involves the internal application of radiation, usually to the inner lining of the uterus.

6. Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells.