Screening for womb cancer
There is no national screening programme for womb cancer in the UK. This is because there isn’t a test that can pick up womb cancer at an early stage.
What is cancer screening?
Screening means testing people for early stages of a disease. This is before they have any symptoms. For screening to be useful the tests:
- need to be reliable at picking up cancers
- overall must do more good than harm to people taking part
- must be something that people are willing to do
Screening tests are not perfect and have some risks. The screening programme should also be good value for money for the NHS.
Why there isn’t a screening programme for womb cancer in the UK?
Doctors use transvaginal ultrasound to measure the thickness of the womb's lining (endometrium). This helps them to decide whether postmenopausal women with symptoms need further tests.
One such test after a vaginal ultrasound is biopsy (sampling) of the womb in women with symptoms. Biopsy in women with no symptoms is limited. This is because:
- it is not a very acceptable test
- it has a high rate of failure
- sometimes, there are not enough cells in the biopsy to make a diagnosis
- tests need to be repeated
No high-quality studies have looked at the effectiveness of transvaginal ultrasound or biopsy of the womb lining to screen the general population for womb cancer.
Screening for women at a higher risk of womb cancer
The British Gynaecological Cancer Society (BGCS) has womb cancer guidelines for doctors. They recommend that women aged 35 years and older with Lynch syndrome, could be offered yearly screening with a:
- transvaginal ultrasound scan
- hysteroscopy with or without a biopsy of the womb lining. A hysteroscope is a thin telescope that allows doctors to look into the womb and take samples of tissue
Your doctor should discuss the risks, benefits and limitations of this type of screening with you.
If you have Lynch syndrome, your doctor might offer you surgery once you have had your family. The surgery involves removing your womb and ovaries and reduces the risk of cancer.
The BGCS guidelines also suggest that you should contact your GP without delay if you have Lynch syndrome and abnormal vaginal bleeding.
Talk to your GP if you think you are at increased risk of womb cancer. They may ask questions about any family members who have cancer and the age they were diagnosed. Your GP may be able to reassure you that your risk of womb cancer is not increased. Or they may refer you to a family cancer clinic or genetic clinic for advice.
See your GP if you have any worrying symptoms or possible symptoms of womb cancer.
