Our Services Cancer Diagnosis

• Most of the patients with cervical cancer present with abnormal vaginal bleeding, such as irregular menstruation or post-coital bleeding. Sometimes, abnormal vaginal discharge is the only symptom.
• Cervical cancer can be diagnosed by biopsy of cervical lesions.
• Diagnosis should be confirmed by histological examination.
• Patients having microinvasive cervical cancer do not usually have symptoms. Diagnoses are usually made because of abnormal cervical smears with lesions picked up by colposcopy examination and biopsy.

• A lot of ovarian cancer patients are already at late stage when diagnosed because the symptoms of early-stage diseases are subtle.
• In general, diagnoses of ovarian tumours are made by imaging studies including ultrasound scan, CT scan and MRI.
• Decision on surgical removal often relies on the size and features of the ovarian tumours.
• Tumour markers are used as an adjunct to the imaging studies for the prediction of the nature of the tumour.
• Final confirmation can only be made with histological examination of the tumour removed.
• In case of ovarian cancer, comprehensive staging should be performed.
• Frozen section can be performed during operation to ascertain the nature of the ovarian tumour. In case of non-benign pathology, staging operation can be proceeded in the same setting so as to avoid a second operation.
• For patients who are not eligible or fit for a primary operation, tissues or cells can sometimes be obtained by imaging-guided biopsies or aspiration of body fluid respectively for confirmation of diagnosis.

• Most of the endometrial cancers are diagnosed early because most patients with this disease present with abnormal vaginal bleeding, such as irregular menstruation and post-menopausal bleeding.
• If endometrial cancer is suspected, endometrial tissue could be obtained by a procedure called “endometrial aspiration”, which could be done in the clinic.
• Sometimes patients have to undergo hysteroscopy and endometrial biopsy if endometrial aspiration is not possible or inconclusive.
• The diagnosis of endometrial cancer has to be confirmed by histological examination.

• Vulval cancer is not common in Hong Kong.
• Patients usually present with vulval ulcer, pain or itchiness.
• Diagnosis could be made by wedge biopsy or excisional biopsy depending on the size of tumour.
• Histological examination is essential for confirmation of diagnosis and determination of the mode of treatment.

• Vaginal cancer is a rare disease.
• It usually occurs in patients with a history of hysterectomy.
• Abnormal vaginal bleeding is the most common presenting symptoms.
• Diagnosis is made by biopsy of the lesion with histological confirmation.

• Fallopian tube and peritoneal cancers are very similar to ovarian cancer in terms of presentation and treatment. But they are not as common as ovarian cancer.
• Sometimes, it may be difficult to differentiate between cancers of ovary, fallopian tube and peritoneum. However, the methods in making the diagnosis and the treatment strategies are the same.

• It main occurs in patients with a history of molar pregnancies.
• About 10 – 15% of patients with complete hydatidiform mole and 5% of patients with partial hydatidiform mole would develop gestational trophoblastic neoplasia.
• The diagnosis is made by the monitoring of serum human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) level following molar pregnancies.