Affiliation:
1. 2nd Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
2. Gynaecologic Oncology Unit, Institut Bergonie, Bordeaux, France
Abstract
The main screening tests that are used for the prevention and early diagnosis of gynaecological cancer are bimanual pelvic examination, transvaginal and transabdominal ultrasound, cervical cytology testing (Papanicolaou test), clinical breast examination, mammography, breast ultrasound, as well as newer diagnostic methods, such as HPV-DNA test and cancer biomarkers. Even though most of the above methods are widely used in everyday practice in gynaecology, it remains a subject for further discussion which of them should be used as screening tests and whether they increase safety in clinical approach of a patient, considering the danger of overdiagnosis and the role of screening test in personalized management of patients. The purpose of this chapter is to analyze the clinical benefit and safety of diagnostic methods related to prevention of various types of gynaecological cancer and in particular endometrial, ovarian, cervical, and breast cancer.