Early Detection Gynecologic Cancer Symposium

"for early detection of cervical cancer, on low resource settings what clinicians can do is 'see and treat'. If the cervix that has been given vinegar appears to change to a whitish color, then do the treatment right away  because from a study it was found that an examination with acetic acid had the same value in early detection of cervical cancer as a conventional Pap's smear examination and succeeded in reducing up to 50% of patients who reached an advanced stage of cervical cancer because it was detected and treated early." Prof. APM .Heintz, M.D. Ph.D. on overview Early Detection of Gynecologic Malignancies.

Faculty of Medicine Universitas Islam Indonesia with his representative dr. Sufi Desrini and dr. Diani Puspa Wijaya attended the Early Detection Gynecologic Cancer Symposium held by the Indonesian Association of Genecological Oncologists (HOGI) at a national conference Solo Gynecology Cancer Conference (SGCC) 2009 from 19 to 21 February 2009 at the Novotel Hotel, Surakarta. At the event, the Faculty of Medicine, Sebelas Maret University had the opportunity to be the host.

In the one-day symposium which discussed early detection of various malignancies in the gynecological field, the committee invited speakers who were experts in their respective fields, not only from UNS or Hospital. DR Moewardi himself but also a speaker from UI, UNPAD, UNDIP and even a gynecological oncologist who came from the Netherlands.

The background of the symposium which was attended by obstetricians and obstetricians is that the paradigm for overcoming gynecological malignancies should be focused on efforts that are promotive and preventive, namely through early detection. The series of symposium materials began with a general presentation on Carcinogenesis in Gynecological Malignancies delivered by dr. Sigit Purbadi, Sp.OG(K) who is a staff member of the oncology division in the obstetrics and gynecology department of FK UI, Jakarta. Dr. Sigit said that like other pathological conditions, it also applies to malignancy, preventing is better than treating. To find out what preventive measures we can take, we should first understand carcinogenesis, the pathogenesis of gynecological cancer which starts from the initiation stage of normal body cells to cells that turn into malignant cells.

The second speaker, Prof. APM. Heintz, M.D. Ph. D. provide an overview in Early Detection of Gynecologic Malignancies. A complete description of each malignancy is presented next, namely Early Detection of Cervical Cancer by Prof. Dr. dr. M. Farid Aziz, Sp.OG(K), Early Detection of Endometrial Cancer by Prof. dr. Nugroho Kampono, Sp.OG (K), Malignancy in Endometriosis by Prof. Dr. dr. Tedjo Danudjo Oepomo, Sp.OG(K) and Early Detection of Ovarian Carcinoma by Prof. dr. Heru Santoso, Sp.OG(K). In general, we should recognize the epidemiology of existing gynecological malignancies, currently cervical malignancies are still the highest. Furthermore, clinicians should also know what to do according to existing conditions to carry out early detection so as to reduce the prevalence of malignancy at an advanced stage. Early detection is secondary prevention, prevention towards advanced conditions by finding an early stage of a malignant process. For example for early detection of cervical cancer, on low resource settings what clinicians can do is 'see and treat'. If the cervix that has been given vinegar appears to change to a whitish color, then do the treatment right away  because from a study it was found that an examination with acetic acid has the same value in early detection of cervical cancer with a conventional Pap's smear examination and has succeeded in reducing up to 50% of patients who reach an advanced stage of cervical cancer because it has been detected and treated early.

The next material that is no less interesting is the discussion of the role of tumor markers, imaging and histopathological features in the early detection of gynecological malignancies. Dr. Heru Priyanto, Sp.OG(K) from the oncology division of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at DR Moewardi Hospital in the Role of Tumor Markers in Gynecological Malignancies stated that basically tumor markers for clinical use are for screening, diagnosis and monitoring therapy. But the most important thing is to assess the level of success of therapy that has been implemented in cases of malignancy. From the imaging side, dr. T. Mirza Iskandar, Sp.OG(K) said that imaging is not recommended as a modality for early detection of malignancy but is more appropriate for evaluating metastases from a process of malignancy and evaluating recurrence and assessing the success of therapy. In the Role of Pathology in the Management of Gynecological Malignancies, Prof. Dr. dr. Ambar Mudigdo, Sp.PA(K) said that in discussions in the field of gynecological malignancies we should understand, analyze etiology, pathogenesis and pathophysiology, especially through sub-cell and cellular level approaches so that it allows us to intervene by breaking the chain of carcinogenic processes so that cancer becomes abortive and does not surface.