Women's health toolkit
This Women’s health toolkit is categorised into sections best representing the needs of women at different stages of their lives.
Gynaecological cancers
Women can be affected by cancer of the uterus, ovary, cervix, vulva, vagina and Fallopian tube. Symptoms which can indicate a gynaecological cancer may also indicate a benign cause, so a thorough history is always important.
Click on the titles to see risk factors for the various cancers:
Increasing age, obesity,
anovulatory conditions such as polycystic ovarian syndrome, the use of
oestrogen-only HRT, or sub-optimal doses of a progestogen in
non-hysterectomised women, diabetes, tamoxifen use, oestrogen-secreting
ovarian tumours, Lynch syndrome.
Increasing age, family history,
endometriosis, use of hormone replacement therapy, increased number of
ovulatory cycles (e.g. nulliparity, early menarche or late menopause), smoking,
increased weight, asbestos exposure.
Infection with human papilloma
virus (HPV) and risk factors that make this more likely (such as multiple
partners, early age of first intercourse, history of sexually transmitted
infections, immunosuppression and lack of use of barrier contraception),
smoking, high parity, family history, use of combined hormonal contraception
for more than five years.
HPV (younger women), long-term
inflammatory dermatoses such as lichen sclerosus and lichen planus (older
women).
Increasing age, HPV, lupus, HIV,
maternal use of diethylstilboestrol while pregnant, past
history of
cervical or endometrial cancer.
Family history of breast
or ovarian cancer.
More
information can be found in the following resources:
• RCGP courses on early diagnosis of
endometrial and cervical cancer, Bloating and Other
Abdominal Symptoms: Could it be Ovarian Cancer?
and vulval cancer.
• RCGP screencast on the genetic risk of
ovarian cancer.
• Cancer Research page on gynaecological
cancer.
• Primary care dermatology society page on vulval
intraepithelial neoplasia and squamous cell carcinoma.