Diagnosis of Cervical Cancer
Diagnostic Test list for Cervical Cancer:
The list of medical tests
mentioned in various sources as
used in the diagnosis of Cervical Cancer
includes:
Cervical Cancer Diagnosis: Book Excerpts
Tests and diagnosis discussion for Cervical Cancer:
HPV: DSTD (Excerpt)
A Pap smear
can detect pre-cancerous and cancerous cells on the cervix. Frequent Pap
smears and careful medical followup, with treatment if necessary, can
help ensure that pre-cancerous cells in the cervix caused by HPV
infection do not develop into life-threatening cervical cancer. The Pap
test used in U.S. cervical cancer screening programs is responsible for
greatly reducing deaths from cervical cancer. The American Cancer
Society estimated that about 12,800 women in the United States were
diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer in 2000. In 2001, approximately
4,600 women will die from cervical cancer. (Source: excerpt from HPV: DSTD)
Cervical Cancer: NWHIC (Excerpt)
Results from five to 10% of Pap smears performed each year on women in
the United States are reported as abnormal. Abnormal cell types include:
-
ASCUS-atypical squamous cells of undetermined
significance. Squamous cells are the thin flat cells that form the
surface of the cervix.
-
LSIL-low-grade (early changes in the size, shape, and
number of cells) squamous intraepithelial lesion. The word lesion refers
to an area of abnormal tissue; intraepithelial means that the abnormal
cells are present only in the surface layer of cells.
-
HSIL-high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion.
High-grade means that there are a large number of precancerous cells
that look very different from normal cells.
ASCUS and LSIL are considered mild abnormalities. HSIL is more severe
and has a higher likelihood of progressing to invasive cancer.
If the Pap test abnormality is unclear or minor, the doctor may repeat
the test to ensure accuracy. If the Pap test shows a significant
abnormality, the doctor may then perform a test called a colposcopy. For
this test, the doctor uses a magnifying instrument to view the tissue
surrounding the vagina and cervix to check for any abnormalities. A
Schiller test may also be performed. For this test, the doctor coats the
cervix with an iodine solution. Healthy cells turn brown and abnormal
cells turn white or yellow. Both of these procedures can be done in the
doctor's office. Finally, the doctor may also remove a small amount of
cervical tissue for examination. This procedure is called a biopsy and is
the only sure way to know whether the abnormal cells indicate cancer. (Source: excerpt from Cervical Cancer: NWHIC)
Cervical Cancer: NWHIC (Excerpt)
All doctors agree that women who show HSIL cells on their Pap tests
should receive a colposcopy and, if necessary, a biopsy. However, there is
no agreement among doctors about how to manage women who show ASCUS or
LSIL cells. Most doctors either perform immediate colposcopy and, if
necessary, biopsy, as for women with high grade lesions. Since low-grade
cell changes in many women tend to go back to normal on their own, other
doctors choose to wait and repeat the Pap smear every four to six months,
then perform colposcopy if the abnormality is still present.
The National Cancer Institute is conducting a study called the
ASCUS/LSIL Triage Study to help doctors determine how to best manage these
two abnormal cell types in women. So far, results show that it is helpful
for women with ASCUS cells to also be tested for HPV to see if their
abnormalities need immediate attention. The study found that many women
with ASCUS cells who tested positive for HPV had precancer, or rarely,
cancer. A negative HPV test provided strong reassurance that precancer or
cancer was not present.
(Source: excerpt from Cervical Cancer: NWHIC)
What You Need To Know About Cancer - An Overview: NCI (Excerpt)
Doctors use the Pap
test , or Pap smear, to screen for cancer of
the cervix. For this test, cells are collected from the
cervix. The cells are examined under a microscope to detect
cancer or changes that may lead to cancer. (Source: excerpt from What You Need To Know About Cancer - An Overview: NCI)
Diagnosis of Cervical Cancer: medical news summaries:
The following medical news items
are relevant to diagnosis and misdiagnosis issues for Cervical Cancer:
Diagnostic Tests for Cervical Cancer: Online Medical Books
16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE!
Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration,
for more information about diagnostis of Cervical Cancer.
Introduction: Malignant Neoplasms:
Diagnostic methods
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
A thorough medical history and physical examination should precede sophisticated diagnostic procedures. Useful tests for the early detection and staging of tumors include X-ray, endoscopy, isotope scan, computed tomography scan, and magnetic resonance imaging, but the single most important diagnostic tool is a biopsy for direct histologic study of tumor tissue. Biopsy tissue samples can be taken by curettage, fluid aspiration (pleural effusion), fine-needle aspiration biopsy (breast), dermal punch (skin or mouth), endoscopy (rectal polyps), and surgical excision (visceral tumors and nodes).
An important tumor marker, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), although not diagnostic by itself, can signal malignancies of the large bowel, stomach, pancreas, lungs, and breasts. CEA titers range from normal (less than 5 ng) to suspicious (5 to 10 ng) to suspect (over 10 ng). CEA serves many valuable purposes:
❑as a baseline during chemotherapy to evaluate the extent of tumor spread
❑to regulate drug dosage
❑to prognosticate after surgery or radiation
❑to detect tumor recurrence.
Although no more specific than CEA, alpha-fetoprotein — a fetal antigen uncommon in adults — can suggest testicular, ovarian, gastric, and hepatocellular cancers. Beta human chorionic gonadotropin may point to testicular cancer or choriocarcinoma. Other commonly used tumor markers include prostate-specific antigen to detect and monitor prostatic cancer, and CA-125, useful for monitoring ovarian, colorectal, and gastric cancers.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Cervical cancer:
Diagnosis
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
A cytologic examination (Papanicolaou [Pap] smear) can detect cervical cancer before clinical evidence appears. (Systems of Pap smear classification may vary from facility to facility.) Abnormal cervical cytology routinely calls for colposcopy, which can detect the presence and extent of preclinical lesions requiring biopsy and histologic examination. Staining may identify areas for biopsy when the smear shows abnormal cells but there's no obvious lesion. Although the tests are nonspecific, they do distinguish between normal and abnormal tissues. Normal tissues absorb the iodine and turn brown; abnormal tissues are devoid of glycogen and won't change color. Additional studies, such as lymphangiography, cystography, and scans, can detect metastasis. (See Staging cervical cancer, page 110.)
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Malignant spinal neoplasms:
Diagnosis
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
❑Spinal and lumbosacral magnetic resonance imaging confirm spinal tumor.
❑ X-rays show distortions of the intervertebral foramina; changes in the vertebrae or collapsed areas in the vertebral body; and localized enlargement of the spinal canal, indicating an adjacent block.
❑ Myelography identifies the level of the lesion by outlining it if the tumor is causing partial obstruction; it shows anatomic relationship to the cord and the dura. If obstruction is complete, the injected dye can't flow past the tumor. (This study is dangerous if cord compression is nearly complete because withdrawal or escape of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) will allow the tumor to exert greater pressure against the cord.)
❑ Radioisotope bone scan demonstrates metastatic invasion of the vertebrae by showing a characteristic increase in osteoblastic activity.
❑ Computed tomography scan shows cord compression and tumor location.
❑ Frozen section biopsy at surgery identifies the tissue type.
❑ Lumbar puncture may be normal, abnormal, or nonspecific. It may show clear yellow CSF as a result of increased protein levels if the flow is completely blocked. If the flow is partially blocked, protein levels rise, but the fluid is only slightly yellow in proportion to the CSF protein level. Cytology of the CSF may show malignant cells of metastatic carcinoma.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Uterine cancer:
Diagnosis
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Unfortunately, a Papanicolaou test, so useful for detecting cervical cancer, doesn't dependably predict early-stage uterine cancer. Diagnosis of uterine cancer requires endometrial, cervical, and endocervical biopsies. (See Staging uterine cancer.) Negative biopsies call for a fractional dilatation and curettage to determine the diagnosis. Positive diagnosis requires the following tests for baseline data and staging:
❑multiple cervical biopsies and endocervical curettage to pinpoint cervical involvement
❑ Schiller's test, staining the cervix and vagina with an iodine solution that turns healthy tissues brown; cancerous tissues resist the stain
❑ complete physical examination
❑ chest X-ray or computed tomography scan
❑ excretory urography and, possibly, cystoscopy
❑ complete blood studies
❑electrocardiogram
❑ proctoscopy or barium enema studies, if bladder and rectal involvement are suspected.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Acceleration-deceleration cervical injuries:
Diagnosis
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Full cervical spine X-rays are required to rule out cervical fractures. If the X-rays are negative, the physical examination focuses on motor ability and sensation below the cervical spine to detect signs of nerve root compression.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Cervical cancer:
Diagnosis
(Handbook of Diseases)
A cytologic examination (Papanicolaou [Pap] test) can be used to detect cervical cancer before symptoms appear. Abnormal cervical cytology generally calls for colposcopy, which can detect the presence and extent of preclinical lesions requiring a biopsy and histologic examination.
Staining with Lugol’s solution (strong iodine) or Schiller’s solution (iodine, potassium iodide, and purified water) may identify areas for a biopsy when the smear shows abnormal cells but there is no obvious lesion. Although the tests are nonspecific and have a high rate of false-positives, they do distinguish between normal and abnormal tissues: Normal tissues absorb the iodine and turn brown; abnormal tissues are devoid of glycogen and don’t change color.
Additional studies — such as cystography, magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography and bone scans — can be used to detect metastasis.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
Uterine cancer:
Diagnosis
(Handbook of Diseases)
Unfortunately, a Pap smear, so useful for detecting cervical cancer, doesn’t dependably predict early-stage uterine cancer. Diagnosis of uterine cancer requires endometrial biopsy and the following tests for baseline data and staging:
❑ complete physical examination
❑ chest X-ray or computed tomography scan
❑ complete blood count
❑ proctoscopy or barium enema studies, if bladder and rectal involvement are suspected.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
Cervical Adenitis:
Diagnosis
(Pediatric Infectious Disease)
Diagnosis of Kawasaki syndrome is made by having five of the six clinical
criteria and by exclusion of other syndromes such as viral illnesses or
toxin-producing bacterial disease. Additional non-criteria signs of Kawasaki
disease, including sterile pyuria, marked elevation of the sedimentation rate,
and early growing desquamation, are frequently helpful in the diagnosis.
Thrombocytosis and palmar desquamation after the first 2 weeks of illness are
also characteristic.
A recent study suggested that the cervical lymph nodes in Kawasaki disease may
have specific ultrasonographic features; ultrasound appearance of the inflamed
nodes in Kawasaki syndrome is often a mass of multiple hypoechoic nodes
resembling a cluster of grapes. This is distinct from the ultrasound features
of routine bacterial lymphadenitis and can be helpful in patient evaluation.
The management of Kawasaki syndrome includes the use of intravenous immune
globulin (IVIG) at a dose of 2 mg/kg. High-dose aspirin, 80 to 100 mg/kg per
day in four divided doses, is used until the patient has resolution of fever.
The patient is then maintained on low-dose aspirin, 3 to 5 mg/kg per day for
about 6 weeks until platelet count and sedimentation rate become normal.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Pediatric Infectious Disease, 2004
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