Bay Biosciences provides high quality, clinical grade fresh frozen serum (sera), plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) samples from patients diagnosed with endometrial cancer.

Moreover, detailed patients clinical info associated with the samples are provided to a pharmaceutical customer for research, development and discovery.

Endometrial Cancer Overview

Researchers classify endometrial cancer as a type of gynecological cancer that originates from the endometrium, which lines the uterus or womb. Specifically, doctors define the uterus as the hollow, pear-shaped pelvic organ where fetal development occurs.

Furthermore, medical professionals also refer to endometrial cancer as uterine cancer. In essence, abnormal cell growth results in this cancer. Consequently it enables these cells to invade or spread to other parts of the body.

Moreover, mutations turn normal healthy cells into abnormal cells. Consequently, healthy cells grow and multiply at a set rate, eventually dying at a set time.

As a result, abnormal cells accumulate to form a mass or a tumor. Additionally, cancer cells invade or metastasize nearby tissues and can separate from an initial tumor to spread elsewhere in the body.

According to the National Cancer Institute over 65000 uterine cancer uterine cancer cases, which total 3.6% of all cancer cases in the United States.

Notably, more than 80 percent of patients with uterine cancer survive for five years or longer after they receive the diagnosis. In particular, the signs and symptoms include mostly vaginal bleeding (not associated with menstrual periods), pelvic pain, bleeding between periods, pain during urination, and pain during sex. Ultimately, endometrial cancer occurs mostly after the menopause.

Risk Factors

Several factors increase the risk of endometrial cancer, including, for instance, changes in the balance of female hormones in the body. Specifically, the ovaries produce two main hormones, estrogen and progesterone, and fluctuations in the balance of these hormones, consequently, cause changes in the endometrium.

Moreover, diseases or conditions that increase the amount of estrogen without raising the level of progesterone in the body can, therefore, elevate the risk of endometrial cancer. Additionally, women who start menstruation at an early age, along with women who have never been pregnant, older women, those with obesity, hormone therapy, and breast cancer, also increase the risk of endometrial cancer.

Signs and Symptoms of Endometrial Cancer

Abnormal vaginal bleeding, for example, commonly indicates endometrial cancer.

This can include:

  • Changes in the length or heaviness of menstrual periods
  • Vaginal bleeding or spotting between menstrual periods
  • Vaginal bleeding after menopause

Furthermore, other potential symptoms of endometrial cancer include:

  • Watery or blood-tinged vaginal discharge
  • Pain in the lower abdomen or pelvis
  • Pain during sex

It is important to note that menopause or other non-cancerous conditions often cause abnormal vaginal bleeding. However, in some cases, endometrial cancer or other types of gynecological cancer may, in fact, signal the issue.

Stages of Endometrial Cancer

Over time, the body can potentially develop endometrial cancer that spreads from the uterus to other parts.

Specifically, doctors classify endometrial cancer into four stages based on how much it has grown or spread.

  • Firstly, Stage 1: The cancer only remains in the uterus.
  • Secondly, Stage 2: The cancer is located in the uterus and cervix.
  • Thirdly, Stage 3: The cancer spreads outside the uterus but not as far as the rectum or bladder. In particular, it might be present in the fallopian tubes, ovaries, vagina, and nearby lymph nodes.
  • Finally, Stage 4: The cancer spreads beyond the pelvic area; it might be present in the bladder, rectum, and distant tissues and organs.

Consequently, when a patient is diagnosed with endometrial cancer, the stage of the cancer affects what treatment options are available and the long-term outlook. Ultimately, endometrial cancer is easier to treat in the early stages of the condition.

Causes of Endometrial Cancer

The exact causes of developing uterine cancer remain unknown. Nevertheless, researchers have identified risk factors, like obesity and hormone imbalance, that strongly link to endometrial cancer.

Additionally, we know that most endometrial cancer cells possess estrogen and/or progesterone receptors on their surfaces. Consequently, these receptors interact with these hormones, leading to increased growth of the endometrium. As a result, this increased growth can become more and more abnormal until it develops into cancer.

Specifically, uterine cancer develops when mutations occur in the DNA of cells in the uterus, which disables functions that control cell division and growth.

In fact, in most cases, doctors find cancer cells in the uterus within the endometrium, the inner lining of the uterus. Therefore, we call this endometrial cancer. Although we may not know the exact cause of a woman’s uterine cancer, researchers have identified certain risk factors strongly linked to the disease, including obesity and high blood sugar.

On the other hand, uterine sarcoma and endometrial cancer possess different risk factors. Thus, having one or several risk factors for cancers of the uterus does not mean you will develop cancer.

Hormones

The hormone balance in a woman plays a significant part in the development of most endometrial cancer. Furthermore, many risk factors for endometrial cancer affect estrogen levels. Before menopause, the ovaries produce the two main types of female hormones, estrogen and progesterone.

Consequently, the balance between these hormones shifts each month during a woman’s menstrual cycle. This, in turn, generates a woman’s monthly periods and maintains the endometrium’s health. However, a shift in the balance of these hormones toward more estrogen raises a woman’s risk for endometrial cancer.

After menopause, the ovaries stop making these hormones; nevertheless, a small amount of estrogen is still made naturally in fat tissue. Moreover, estrogen from fat tissue has a bigger impact after menopause than it does before menopause.

Risk Factors of Endometrial Cancer

A risk factor is anything that raises the chance of developing cancer. Different cancers have different risk factors. Although certain factors may increase a patients risk for developing endometrial cancer, but they don’t always cause the cancer. Many women with risk factors never develop endometrial cancer. Some women patients with endometrial cancer don’t have any known risk factors. Even if a woman with endometrial cancer has one or more risk factors, there’s no confirmed way to know which, if any, of them caused the cancer.

Following are the some of the known risk factors of developing endometrial cancer:

  • Obesity
  • Things that affect hormone levels, like taking estrogen after menopause, birth control pills, or tamoxifen; the number of menstrual cycles (over a lifetime), pregnancy, certain ovarian tumors, and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
  • Use of an intrauterine device (IUD)
  • Age
  • Diet and exercise
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Family history (having close relatives with endometrial or colorectal cancer)
  • Having had breast or ovarian cancer in the past
  • Having had endometrial hyperplasia in the past
  • Treatment with radiation therapy to the pelvis to treat another cancer

Diagnosis of Endometrial Cancer

Usually, healthcare professionals perform a transvaginal ultrasound as one of the first steps if they suspect endometrial cancer. Specifically, a doctor or other healthcare professional inserts an ultrasound probe into your vagina.

Consequently, this probe transmits images onto a monitor. If the ultrasound exam detects abnormalities, then the healthcare team may conduct one or more of the following tests to collect a tissue sample for testing.

  • Firstly Endometrial Biopsy: Firstly, Endometrial Biopsy: In this test, a thin flexible tube is inserted through the cervix into the uterus. Moreover, suction is applied to remove a small piece of tissue from the endometrium through the tube.
  • Secondly Hysteroscopy: Secondly, Hysteroscopy: In this procedure, a thin flexible tube is inserted with a fiber-optic camera through the cervix into the uterus. In addition, the endoscope is used to visually examine the endometrium and biopsy samples of abnormalities.
  • Dilation and curettage (D&C): If the results of a biopsy are unclear, then another sample of endometrial tissue might be collected using D&C. To do so, the cervix is dilated using a special tool to scrape tissue from the endometrium.

After collecting a tissue sample from the endometrium, a technician, therefore, sends it to a laboratory for testing. Subsequently, a pathologist at the laboratory examines the tissue sample under a microscope to learn if it contains cancer cells.

If, indeed, a doctor discovers endometrial cancer, they may, in turn, conduct additional tests to learn if the cancer has spread. For example, they may, in addition, require additional blood tests, X-rays, MRIs, or other imaging tests to reach conclusive diagnostics.

Biospecimens

Bay Biosciences is, indeed a global leader in providing researchers with high quality, clinical grade, fully characterized human tissue samples, bio-specimens, and human bio-fluid collections.

Specifically, aamples available include cancer (tumor) tissue, cancer serum, cancer plasma, cancer, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). and human tissue samples from most other therapeutic areas and diseases.

Moreover, Bay Biosciences maintains and manages its own biorepository, the human tissue bank (biobank) consisting of thousands of diseased samples (specimens) and from normal healthy donors available in all formats and types.

In fact, our biobank procures and stores fully consented, de-identified and institutional review boards (IRB) approved human tissue samples and matched controls.

Additionally, all our human tissue collections, human specimens and human bio-fluids are provided with detailed, samples associated patient’s clinical data.

In particular, critical patient’s clinical data includes information relating to their past and current disease, treatment history, lifestyle choices, biomarkers, and genetic information.

Moreover, patient’s data is extremely valuable for researchers and is used to help identify new effective treatments (drug discovery & development) in oncology, and other therapeutic areas and diseases.

Specifically, Bay Biosciences banks wide variety of human tissue samples and biological samples, including cryogenically preserved at – 80°C.

For example fresh frozen tissue samples, tumor tissue samples, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE), tissue slides, with matching human bio-fluids, whole blood and blood-derived products such as serum, plasma and PBMC.

Furthermore, Bay Biosciences is a global leader in collecting and providing human tissue samples according to the specified requirements and customized, tailor-made collection protocols.

Therefore, please contact us anytime to discuss your special research projects and customized human tissue sample requirements.

Types of Biospecimens

Bay Biosciences provides human tissue samples (human specimens) from diseased and normal healthy donors which includes:

Customized Collections

Moreover, we can also procure most human bio-specimens, furthermore; we offer special collections and requests for human samples that are difficult to find. All our human tissue samples are procured through IRB-approved clinical protocols and procedures.

In addition to the standard processing protocols, Bay Biosciences can also provide human plasma, serum, and PBMC bio-fluid samples using custom processing protocols. Additionally you buy donor-specific collections in higher volumes and specified sample aliquots from us.

Furthermore, Bay Biosciences also provides human samples from normal healthy donors; volunteers, for controls and clinical research, contact us Now.

 

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