Endometrial Cancer: Tests After Diagnosis

What tests might I have after being diagnosed?

After a diagnosis of endometrial cancer, you will likely need more tests. These tests help your healthcare providers learn more about the cancer. The tests can help show if it has grown into nearby tissue or spread to other parts of your body. The test results help your healthcare providers work with you to decide the best ways to treat the cancer. If you have any questions about these or other tests, be sure to talk with your healthcare team.

Some of the tests used after diagnosis include:

• CT scan

• MRI

• PET scan

• Chest X-ray

• Blood tests

Imaging tests

CT scan

This test helps your healthcare provider see if cancer has spread to other parts of your body. A CT scan uses a series of X-rays and a computer to create detailed 3-D images of the inside of your body.

During the test, you lie still on a table as it slowly slides through the center of a ring-shaped CT scanner. The scanner sends beams of X-rays at your body from many angles. A CT scan doesn't hurt. You may be asked to briefly hold your breath a few times during the scan.

Before the scan, you may need to drink a contrast dye, or you may get it as an IV (intravenous) injection, or you may get both. The dye helps lymph nodes and other tissues show up better on the scan. It will pass out of your body over the next day or so through your bowel movements. Some people have a brief warm feeling (flushing) through their body just after the dye is given though an IV. This is normal.

Before having a CT scan, tell the healthcare provider if you have ever had a reaction to contrast dye in the past, such as hives or trouble breathing. Tell the technician if you don't feel well during the test.

MRI

This test uses magnets, radio waves, and a computer to make detailed images of the uterus and other tissues in your pelvis and belly (abdomen). An MRI is used to see if cancer has grown into or through the wall of your uterus and can help check for spreading to lymph nodes and other parts of your body.

For this test, you lie still on a table as it passes through a long, narrow, tubelike scanner. The scanner sends beams of radio waves at the part of your body being scanned. A computer uses the radio waves to create a 3-D picture of your insides. You may need more than one set of images. Each set may take 2 to 15 minutes, so the whole scan may take an hour or more.

A contrast dye might be put into a vein in your hand or arm before this scan. It helps get even clearer images of the inside of your body. This test is painless. You might be given earplugs because of the loud thumping and buzzing noises during the scan. If you're claustrophobic, you may need to be given a sedative before this test. 

PET scan

A PET scan looks at your entire body. A sugar solution that contains a mildly radioactive material is put into your blood through a vein in your hand or arm. Cancer cells use the sugar faster than other cells, so the radioactive material collects in them. Then a machine takes pictures of your whole body. The PET scan shows where the sugar is being used the most. This helps find very active cells that are dividing quickly, such as cancer cells.

About an hour or so after you get the sugar solution, you’ll lie on a table that moves through a ring-shaped PET scanner. It will rotate around you and take pictures. Other than the injection, a PET scan is painless. Some people are sensitive to the sugar used and may have nausea, a headache, or vomiting. Some newer machines can do PET and CT scans at the same time. This is called a PET-CT. It allows areas that show up on the PET scan to be compared to the more detailed images of the CT scan. This test is very good for looking for cancer that has spread from where it first started.

Chest X-ray

This X-ray may be done to see if the cancer has spread to your lungs. For the test, you stand in front of a rectangular target area where the X-ray film is held. You may be asked to hold your arms to the side or over your head. You take a breath and stay still for a few seconds. An X-ray will be done from the front and from the side. The test takes only a few minutes and is painless.

Blood tests

You may need blood tests, such as:

• Complete blood count (CBC). This test may be done to find out if the bleeding that's often caused by endometrial cancer has caused you to be anemic. Anemia is a low red blood cell count.

• Blood chemistry. These tests measure amounts of certain substances in the blood. They may be done so your provider can see how well some of your organs are working, like your kidneys and liver.

• CA 125. This is a substance that some kinds of endometrial cancer cells release into the blood. Very high levels may help your provider figure out what kind of endometrial cancer it is or may be a sign that the cancer has spread beyond the uterus.

Working with your healthcare provider

Your healthcare provider will talk with you about which tests you’ll have. Get ready for the tests as instructed. Be sure you know what the test will be like and why it's being done. Ask your healthcare team questions and talk about any concerns you have.