Kotryna Kvitkovskaja1, Laura Asadauskaitė2
1Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Academy of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kaunas, Lithuania,
2 Vilnius University, Faculty of Medicine, Clinic of Family Medicine. Vilnius, Lithuania.
Abstract
Gynecological cancers, including ovarian, endometrial and cervical neoplasia, are one of the most common types of malignancies– together they account for 15,8 % of all diagnosed cancers in the female population (1). The main and primary diagnostic tool in suspected malignancy is transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS), which is available in all healthcare levels. TVUS clearly shows structural changes in female reproductive organs and pelvis, even in the early stages and helps to monitor the progression of the disease as well as to evaluate cancer staging (2,3). But as many tumors are very heterogeneous in structure and are hard to differentiate with non – malignant lesions, the TVUS interpretation remains challenging, especially for non – expert clinicians. For that reason literature presents many TVUS algorithms and helpful rules, which aid in determining the risk of malignancy and extension of the tumor. In this article we will review the significance and aspects of TVUS in diagnosing ovarian, endometrial and cervical neoplasms.
Keywords: cervical cancer, endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer, transvaginal ultrasound.