
Could A Mass Grow Aggressively On The Cervix Within A Few Months?

Posted on
Fri, 20 Apr 2018
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team


Question : Hi, I am 56yo, hx of HPV, treated with cryotherapy 25 years ago. I get yearly paps. HPV showed up a few times in the last 7 years but always went away when I returned in 6 months or a year, whatever was recommended. I have had bladder inflammation / interstitial cystitis for the past 16 months. Dec 26th 2017, had a colposcopy after HPV showed up again last year. Results said "no t-zone seen" as well as Scant fragments of benign endocervical tissue
admixed with mucus. the other comments were: he specimen is received in formalin, labeled
with the patient's name, QT no., and labeled as
'ECC' within the container is the tip of a Pap
brush which contains multiple irregular shaped
pieces of tan-brown mucoid fragments measuring in
aggregate 0.4 x 0.4 x 0.1 cm. The specimen is
filtered and totally submitted in one cassette.
Summary of sections = multiple pieces. Specimen
may not survive processing. SO, less than 13 weeks later, I saw another Urogynecologist. She examined me, was immediately alarmed. She said she saw a large (4cm) mass on my cervix and I was bleeding. Very painful exam. A week or two later she did a colposcopy and cystoscopy with biopsies. That report clearly showed Cervical cancer. The doctor said it was a 4 cm mass. CT scan showed "irregular thickening of the cervix" but wasn't well defined. I am now scheduled for a radical hysterectomy, prior to which I will have a PET scan and biopsy of 2-3 lymph nodes that were slightly enlarged in the pelvis. My question is how did the first doctor miss a 4 cm mass on my cervix?? The second Dr could see it on exam.
admixed with mucus. the other comments were: he specimen is received in formalin, labeled
with the patient's name, QT no., and labeled as
'ECC' within the container is the tip of a Pap
brush which contains multiple irregular shaped
pieces of tan-brown mucoid fragments measuring in
aggregate 0.4 x 0.4 x 0.1 cm. The specimen is
filtered and totally submitted in one cassette.
Summary of sections = multiple pieces. Specimen
may not survive processing. SO, less than 13 weeks later, I saw another Urogynecologist. She examined me, was immediately alarmed. She said she saw a large (4cm) mass on my cervix and I was bleeding. Very painful exam. A week or two later she did a colposcopy and cystoscopy with biopsies. That report clearly showed Cervical cancer. The doctor said it was a 4 cm mass. CT scan showed "irregular thickening of the cervix" but wasn't well defined. I am now scheduled for a radical hysterectomy, prior to which I will have a PET scan and biopsy of 2-3 lymph nodes that were slightly enlarged in the pelvis. My question is how did the first doctor miss a 4 cm mass on my cervix?? The second Dr could see it on exam.
Brief Answer:
Could have aggressively grown in the 13 weeks
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
I have gone carefully through your query and understand your concerns. I have doubts whether the first doctor had missed the 4 cm mass since missing a mass is highly unlikely. Rather, it is more likely that the mass was not there 13 weeks back and has cropped up in this duration. This is possible in case of a malignant tumor where the rate of division is high. So, in case of an aggressive tumor I would not be surprised if such a thing happens.
Let me know if I could help further.
Regards
Could have aggressively grown in the 13 weeks
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
I have gone carefully through your query and understand your concerns. I have doubts whether the first doctor had missed the 4 cm mass since missing a mass is highly unlikely. Rather, it is more likely that the mass was not there 13 weeks back and has cropped up in this duration. This is possible in case of a malignant tumor where the rate of division is high. So, in case of an aggressive tumor I would not be surprised if such a thing happens.
Let me know if I could help further.
Regards
Note: Revert back with your gynae reports to get a clear medical analysis by our expert Gynecologic Oncologist. Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Yogesh D

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