Tubal Cancer - Fact Sheet

	The Fallopian Tubes
	What is Cancer of the Fallopian Tube?
	Causes
	Symptoms
	Diagnosis
	Treatment

The Fallopian Tubes

The fallopian tubes are the tubular structures which connect the upper, outer-most part of the uterus with the ovaries and provide a means for fertilisation of the female egg.

What is Cancer of the Fallopian Tubes?

Cancer of the fallopian tubes is very uncommon. For instance, the Queensland Centre for Gynaecological Cancer saw only five cases of cancer of the fallopian tubes in 1998.

What Causes Cancer of the Fallopian Tubes?

Cancers of the fallopian tube may occur in middle aged women who have had children and often after menopause, but their cause is not known.

Very often there are no symptoms in the early stages of cancer of the fallopian tube and many are only found by chance during a routine gynaecological check-up. However, if a woman notices any of the following, she should see her family doctor:

	increasing swelling of her lower abdomen without weight gain elsewhere;
	increasing swelling of her lower abdomen which does not improve with diet or exercise;
	a lump or mass in her abdomen, especially her lower abdomen;
	lower abdominal/pelvic pain that does not settle quickly and simply;
	feelings of pressure on the bowel or bladder and a feeling that the bowel or bladder cannot be completely emptied; or
	abnormal bleeding from the vagina, especially bleeding after the menopause.

Diagnosis

Due to the lack of symptoms in its early stages, cancer of the fallopian tubes is not easy to diagnose. However, if your doctor suspects the presence of a tumour, there are several tests hat may be performed. He/she will probably begin by taking a history and doing an internal pelvic examination to feel for the shape, size and position of the pelvic organs. Blood tests and an ultrasound of the pelvis may be ordered.

Once cancer of the fallopian tubes is strongly suspected, patients should be referred to a specialist gynaecological oncologist. following further tests, an operation called a laparotomy will be performed in most cases. During this operation, the surgeon will assess the spread of the cancer and will attempt to remove much, if not all, of the cancer. What is removed will be sent to a pathologist for testing. The results will allow the doctor to stage the disease and plan any further treatment.

Treatment

All cases of cancer of the fallopian tubes can be treated. Treatments will depend on your age, your desire to have further children, the type of tumour you have and the stage of the tumour. The main treatment types used for cancer of the fallopian tube are surgery and chemotherapy.

If the disease is limited to one fallopian tube and occurs in a young woman who wishes to retain her ability to bear children, then treatment will generally be by removal of the fallopian tube and ovary on that side (a salpingo-oophorectomy), as well as removal of the omentum (a fatty apron that hangs off the bottom of the stomach and part of the bowel) and lymph nodes in the pelvis and para-aortic region on the same side as the tumour.

A decision as to whether or not the patient also received chemotherapy would have to await the pathology report on this operation. If the tumour was limited to the fallopian tube, the patient would not receive chemotherapy unless it was a clear cell tumour.

If the disease has spread beyond one fallopian tube, then generally the treatment will be to leave you with no visible evidence of a tumour. This will usually require a hysterectomy, removal of both fallopian tubes and ovaries, removal of the omentum and multiple biopsies. If it is an advanced disease then bowel resections followed by chemotherapy may be required.