Histopathological Evaluation of Postmenopausal Bleeding

Abstract

Post menopausal is generally regarded as an ominous and serious alarm of genital pathologies. The term post menopausal bleeding generally implies from the uterus and it is essentially the only of importance at the postmenopausal age. However in the practical sense the term also includes some instances of from the vagina, urethra or vulva, in which case a uterine source is held suspect until excluded. Being a symptom of varied etiologies and its strong association with malignancy, it should not be taken lightly. During the present hospital based cross sectional study, we aimed to find out the different histomorphological patterns of the endometrium and cervix, to assess the rate of different benign, premalignant and malignant conditions as a cause of postmenopausal bleeding. 250 specimens were selected. The material for the study was collected from the endometrial curettings, cervical biopsies and hysterectomy specimens sent for histopathological examination. Benign conditions were seen in 206 (82.4%) cases which included atrophic endometrium, proliferative endometrium, secretory endometrium, endometrial polyp, leiomyoma, tuberculous endometritis and simple cystic hyperplasia cases. Premalignant conditions such as hyperplasia with atypia were seen in 18 (7.2%) cases. Endometrial adenocarcinoma, cervical squamous cell carcinoma and Mixed Mullerian tumor (MMT) were the malignant condition seen in 26 (10.4%) cases.