Chapter 13: Malignant Diseases of the Uterus and Cervix

• Pelvic inflammatory disease is an infection of the uterus, fallopian tubes, and adjacent pelvic structures; usually caused by an ascending infection in which disease-producing germs spread from the vagina and cervix to the upper portions of the female reproductive tract.
• Resistive Index: Calculated flow parameter in ultrasound used to assess the resistance in a pulsatile vascular system
• Epithelioid trophoblastic tumour: Variant of placental-site trophoblastic tumour
• Adenosis: Any disease of a gland or of glandular, especially the abnormal proliferation of the glandular tissue
• Cervical stenosis: Narrowing or obstruction of the cervical canal caused by an acquired condition
• Leiomyosarcoma: Malignant tumour that is composed of smooth muscles cells and fibrous connective tissue; sonographically appears like a benign leiomyoma
• Brachytherapy: Procedure that involves placing radioactive material inside the body
• Endometrial hyperplasia: Condition that results from estrogen stimulation to the endometrium without the influence of progestin; frequent cause of bleeding especially in post-menopausal women
• Antineoplastic: Prevents the development, growth or proliferation of malignant cells
• Human Papilloma Virus (HPV): Virus that is transmitted through sexual contact and produces lesions on the mucous membranes; most common sti and considered a causative factor in cervical carcinoma
• Teratogenic: Causing congenital anomalies or birth defects
• Polycystic ovarian syndrome: Complex disorder involving infrequent, irregular menstrual cycles and often excess male hormone (androgen) levels
• Methotrexate: Drug that inhibits cellular reproduction; used primarily in the treatment of psoriasis, various malignant neoplastic diseases, and as an immunosuppressive agent
• Granulosa cell tumour: Estrogen secreting tumour that arises from granulosa cells; these tumours are part of the sex cord-gonadal stromal category and present as large, complex, ovarian masses
• Androstenedione: Naturally occurring steroid hormone, accessible as a dietary supplement and believed to increase serum testosterone levels
• Squamous cell carcinoma: Slow-growing malignant tumour composed of squamous epithelium; most common type of cervical cancer
• Persistent trophoblastic neoplasia: Malignant end of the GTN spectrum; this group of life-threatening diseases persists most often from a molar pregnancy
• Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG): Hormone produced by chorionic cells in the fetal part of the placenta and found in the urine and blood of pregnant women
• Choriocarcinoma: Metastatic type of persistent trophoblastic neoplasia that can result from any type of pregnancy but most often occurs with molar pregnancy
• Hydrops tubae profluens: Watery discharge sometimes present with fallopian tube carcinoma
• Gadolinium: Rare earth metallic element possessing paramagnetic properties that are used in contrast media for MRI
• Endometrial carcinoma: Malignant layer of cells that form in the endometrium; presents with abnormal thickening of the endometrial cavity and irregular bleeding in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women
• Cervical polyp: Growth protruding from the epithelium if the cervix; may be broad based or pedunculated
• Placental-site trophoblastic tumour: Type of PTN that usually occurs several years after a normal term pregnancy
• Leiomyoma: Benign tumour composed of smooth muscles cells and fibrous connective tissue that occurs in the uterus
• Peutz-Jeghers syndrome: Inherited disorder characterized by presence of polyps of the small intestine and melanin pigmentation of the lips, mucosa, fingers, and toes; anemia from the intestinal polyp is common
• Salpingo-oophrectomy: Surgical removal of the fallopian tubes and ovaries
• Pulsatility index: Calculation of Doppler measurements of systolic and diastolic velocities during a specified cardia cycle; like the resistive index, it is used to assess the resistance in a pulsatile vascular system
• Endometrial polyp: Pedunculated or sessile mass growing from the endometrium
• Pap smear: Cytologic study used to detect cancer in the cells that an organ has shed; used most often in the diagnosis and prevention of cervical cancer and also valuable in the detection of pleural or peritoneal malignancies
• Gestational trophoblastic neoplasia: Group of rare disease in which abnormal trophoblast cells overtake pregnancy and propagated throughout the uterine cavity; these tumours arise from the placental chorionic villi after conception
• Submucosal leiomyoma: Type of leiomyoma that deforms the endometrial cavity and can cause heavy or irregular menses
• Adenocarcinoma: Malignant tumour arising from any glandular organ
• Endometrioid: Tumour that microscopically resembles endometrial tissue
• Fallopian tube carcinoma: Malignancy of the fallopian tube which is also linked to BRCA-1 and BRCA-2; adenocarcinoma is the most common histologic type
• Sonohysterography: Injection of sterile saline into the endometrial canal under ultrasound guidance; this procedure allows for good visualization of the endometrial borders to rule out pathology
• Specificity: True negative rate; measures the proportion of those individuals who do not have the condition and who are correctly identified as not having the condition
• Metastases: Process by which cancer spreads from a primary source to a distant locations in the body
• Antiestrogen: Any substance that blocks or modifies the action of estrogen
• Radiation therapy: Treatment technique that uses high doses of radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumours; deters the proliferation of malignant cells by decreasing mitosis or impairing DNA synthesis