[이데일리 이순용 기자] February 4 every year is ‘World Cancer Day’ established by the International Cancer Prevention Alliance in 2005 to raise cancer awareness and help cancer patients.
Ewha Womans University Women’s Cancer Hospital (Chief Byung-in Moon) emphasized caution against endometrial cancer on the occasion of ‘World Cancer Day’. Professor Kim Mi-gyeong of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Ewha Womans University Women’s Cancer Hospital explained, “The most rapidly growing female cancer is endometrial cancer.
Endometrial cancer is a cancer that occurs in the endometrium, and its prevalence is gradually increasing due to westernized eating habits, obesity, and an aging society. According to the cancer registration statistics of the Central Cancer Registry Headquarters, the crude incidence of endometrial cancer is rapidly increasing by 4 times in 20 years from 3.1 per 100,000 women in 1999 to 12.8 in 2019, and is the 10 most common cancer in women. climbed to 7th place.
About 80% or more of endometrial cancer is diagnosed at an early stage confined to the uterine body, and early endometrial cancer has a good prognosis with a 5-year survival rate of 90% or more. However, in the case of advanced cancer, which accounts for 15-20%, the response to chemotherapy is lower than that of other cancer types, and the 5-year survival rate is less than 30%, resulting in poor treatment results. In addition, the risk of recurrence of early endometrial cancer is less than 10%, which is excellent in treatment results, but in the case of advanced endometrial cancer, the recurrence rate is reported to be as high as 20 to 50% or more depending on the stage.
Professor Mi-Kyung Kim said, “Most early endometrial cancer is a cancer with a very good prognosis, with many being cured. Early diagnosis is the most important thing, so if you have abnormal vaginal bleeding, such as excessive menstruation, irregular bleeding, or postmenopausal bleeding, don’t just ignore the symptoms and seek gynecological care so that diagnostic tests can be done at the right time.”
Endometrial cancer is classified into stages 1 to 4. Stage 1 is diagnosed when it is confined to the uterine body, stage 2 when it invades the cervix, stage 3 when it invades the lymph nodes or surrounding tissues, and stage 4 when there is metastasis to other organs. .
In most cases, staging is determined through staging surgery, but in cases where surgery is difficult, staging is determined through imaging tests such as CT, MRI, and PET-CT. In stage 1 or 2 endometrial cancer, laparoscopic or robotic surgery is performed after staging surgery. If the uterus is large, open surgery is performed because there is a risk of cancer tissue spilling out when the excised tissue is taken out.
In the third stage of endometrial cancer, staging surgery is performed first, and then radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or a combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy is performed to reduce the recurrence rate. In the fourth stage, chemotherapy and bleeding to relieve symptoms In severe cases, radiotherapy or hysterectomy is performed.
Care after endometrial cancer surgery is important. What affects the survival rate is regular exercise and proper weight maintenance. Professor Kim Mi-kyung said, “After suffering from endometrial cancer, rather than eating a lot of foods that are known to be good for the body but have not been verified, regular moderate-intensity exercise for at least 30 minutes that makes you sweat three or more times a week can lead to excessive weight gain. It is more important to manage not to get steamed,” he said.
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