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Read it yourself and tell your friend! How to protect yourself from ovarian cancer and how is it treated?
In 2020, more than 13 thousand cases of ovarian cancer were registered in Russia. It is difficult to prevent it, as well as to detect it in the early stages: there are no specific symptoms.
Together with the obstetrician-gynecologist of the “CM-Clinic” Ivan Valerievich Komar, we figured out who is at risk, how to reduce the likelihood of developing ovarian cancer and how to treat it if it did happen.
What is ovarian cancer
Every cell in the human body has a lifespan. While the cell grows, lives and works, it becomes overgrown with waste and accumulates mutations. When there are too many of them, the cell dies. But sometimes something breaks, and instead of dying, the unhealthy cell continues to divide. If there are too many of these cells, and other immune cells do not have time to destroy them, cancer appears.
Ovarian cancer occurs in the ovaries, the female reproductive glands that produce eggs and are the main source of female hormones. The type of tumor depends on the cell in which it originated. For example, epithelial tumors start from the epithelial cells of the fallopian tube. 80% of all ovarian tumors are just like that. But not all neoplasms are malignant.
What are the symptoms of ovarian cancer
Stage XNUMX ovarian cancer rarely causes symptoms. And even in the later stages, these symptoms are nonspecific.
Typically, the symptoms are:
pain, bloating, and a feeling of heaviness in the abdomen;
discomfort and pain in the pelvic region;
vaginal bleeding or unusual discharge after menopause;
fast satiety or loss of appetite;
changing toilet habits: frequent urination, constipation.
If any of these signs appear and do not go away within two weeks, you need to see a doctor. Most likely, this is not cancer, but something else, but without consulting a gynecologist, you cannot find out or cure it.
Most cancers are initially asymptomatic, as is the case with ovarian cancer. However, if a patient, for example, has a cyst that can be painful, this will force the patient to seek medical attention and detect changes. But in most cases, there are no symptoms. And if they appear, then the tumor may be already large in size or involve other organs. Therefore, the main advice is not to wait for symptoms and regularly visit a gynecologist.
Only one third of ovarian cancer cases are detected in the first or second stage, when the tumor is limited to the ovaries. This usually gives a good prognosis in terms of treatment. Half of the cases are detected in the third stage, when metastases appear in the abdominal cavity. And the remaining 20%, every fifth patient suffering from ovarian cancer, is detected at the fourth stage, when metastases spread throughout the body.
Who is at risk
It is impossible to predict who will get cancer and who will not. However, there are risk factors that increase this likelihood.
Older age: Ovarian cancer most often occurs between the ages of 50-60.
Inherited mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes that also increase the risk of breast cancer. Among women with a mutation in BRCA1 by the age of 80, they will develop ovarian cancer, and with BRCA2 – 11-17%.
Ovarian or breast cancer in close relatives.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) after menopause. HRT , which returns to the previous level with the end of the drug intake.
Early onset of menstruation and late onset of menopause.
The first birth after 35 years old or the absence of children at this age.
Being overweight is also a risk factor. Most female oncological diseases are estrogen-dependent, that is, they are caused by the activity of estrogens, female sex hormones. They are secreted by the ovaries, partly by the adrenal glands and adipose tissue. If there is a lot of adipose tissue, then there will be more estrogen, so the likelihood of getting sick is higher.
How ovarian cancer is treated
Treatment depends on the stage of the cancer, health status, and whether the woman has children. Most often, patients go through surgical removal of the tumor in combination with chemotherapy to kill the remaining cells. Already at the third stage, metastases, as a rule, grow into the abdominal cavity, and in this case the doctor may recommend one of the methods of chemotherapy – the HIPEC method.
HIPEC is hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy. To fight against tumors, the abdominal cavity is treated with a heated solution of chemotherapy drugs, which, due to the high temperature, destroy cancer cells.
The procedure consists of three stages. The first is the surgical removal of visible malignant neoplasms. At the second stage, catheters are inserted into the abdominal cavity, through which a solution of a chemotherapy drug heated to 42-43 ° C is supplied. This temperature is significantly higher than 36,6 ° C, so temperature control sensors are also placed in the abdominal cavity. The third stage is final. The cavity is washed, the incisions are sutured. The procedure can take up to eight hours.
Prevention of ovarian cancer
There is no simple recipe for how to protect yourself from ovarian cancer. But just as there are factors that increase the risk, there are those that reduce it. Some are easy to follow, others will require surgery. Here are some ways to prevent ovarian cancer.
Avoiding risk factors: being overweight, having an unbalanced diet, or taking HRT after menopause.
Take oral contraceptives. Women who have used them for more than five years have half the risk of ovarian cancer than women who have never used them. However, taking oral contraceptives does not significantly increase the likelihood of breast cancer. Therefore, they are not used only for the prevention of cancer.
Ligate the fallopian tubes, remove the uterus and ovaries. Usually, this method is used if the woman has a high risk of cancer and already has children. After the operation, she will not be able to get pregnant.
Breast-feeding. that feeding for a year reduces the risk of ovarian cancer by 34%.
Visit your gynecologist regularly. During the examination, the doctor checks the size and structure of the ovaries and uterus, although most early tumors are difficult to detect. The gynecologist must prescribe a transvaginal ultrasound of the pelvic organs for examination. And if a woman is in a high-risk group, for example, she has a mutation in the BRCA genes (two genes BRCA1 and BRCA2, the name of which means “breast cancer gene” in English), then it is necessary to additionally pass a blood test for the CA- 125 and tumor marker HE-4. General screening, such as mammography for breast cancer, still exists for ovarian cancer.