A remote consultation is a valuable resource when you face complex medical issues or difficult treatment decision. Our remote consultation program offers patients access to leading specialists at Asan Medical Center.
Why should you receive treatment for gynecologic cancer in AMC
AMC Gynecologic Cancer Center provides specialized diagnosis, treatment, and care of cancers that occur in the internal and external genital organs (carcinomas) and premalignant lesion, and performs the largest number of high-quality treatment and surgeries. The center deals with various cancers such as cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer, vaginal cancer, and vulvar cancer. Cervical cancer is the most common gynecologic cancers in Korea and ovarian cancer is a cancer which is hard to diagnose and treat. Endometrial cancer, vaginal cancer, and vulvar cancer, a cancer which occurrence frequency is rising, are treated in the center.
AMC has begun using a laparoscopic surgery for cervical cancer, endometrial cancer, and early-stage ovarian cancer in 1997, which is the earliest in Korea. AMC also performed laparoscopic surgery more than 600 gynecologic cancers up to date, which is the greatest record in Korea.
AMC Gynecologic Cancer Center’s medical professionals have made endless efforts to offer best treatment and study, and attained the best achievements among prestigious hospitals at home and abroad based on accumulated experience in treatment and quality medical services.
Since 2014, innovative clinics were established to provide patient-centric customized medical care. Young gynecologic cancer, a clinic for young cancer patients in their childbearing age to preserve the ability to conceive during and after anticancer treatment, the hereditary breast & ovarian cancer clinic, a clinic for women with an abnormality in BRCA gene related to breast cancer and ovarian cancer, the intractable gynecologic cancer clinic, a clinic for patients with recurrent or progressive gynecologic cancers, and the pelvic tumor clinic, a clinic for patients with carcinomas inside the pelvis, are all included in AMC Gynecologic Cancer Center. This multidisciplinary system enables individualized treatment that suits each patient.
In particular, the center is taking a lead in customized research with treatment of gynecologic cancers in cooperation with the Center for Personalized Cancer Medicine of AMC Cancer Institute that involves targeted therapy and precision therapy for cancer gene mutations.
Treatment options
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses anti-cancer drugs. Anti-cancer drugs are given by orally or intravenously. Drugs will be absorbed inside and circulate around on either administered method of drugs. The drugs affect not only cancer cells, but also other normal cells. By this reason, complications might occur. Repeated administration of anticancer drugs may eradicate cancer cells, so it is desirable to continue administering anticancer drugs as long as they are effective despite some adverse effects.
Radiotherapy
Radiotherapy is a type of cancer treatment which uses high dose of radiation to destroy cancer cells and eliminate or minimize a tumor. It is often used to reduce cancer cells before surgery or remove cancer cells that remained even after surgery, but sometimes adopted for complete cure when surgery is considered difficult. External radiation therapy and internal radiation therapy are used solely or in combination depending on cancer stages. Also, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are sometimes used together.
Surgery
Laparoscopic surgery for gynecologic cancer Compare to laparotomy which was used in the past, laparoscopic surgery are performed through four small incisions made in the abdomen for gynecologic cancers such as cervical cancer, endometrial cancer, and early-stage ovarian cancer. Due to reduce of patients’ postoperative pain, recovery time has shortened. This allows for patient to resume their normal lives quickly. Also, there is almost no abdomen scar left, which is a cosmetic concern for women.
AMC's treatment performance
AMC Gynecologic Cancer Center is visited by more than 1,000 patients every year and focuses on treating cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer, and other rare gynecologic cancers.
The Gynecologic Cancer Center performs more than 300 laparoscopic surgeries for gynecologic cancers every year, which is the largest in Korea, and holds an high standard position in laparoscopic surgery that preserves fertility as it has performed 110 radical hysterectomies until now. Moreover, AMC is internationally well recognized in laparoscopic surgery for gynecologic cancers, so many gynecologic cancer specialists from Japan, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Malaysia come to AMC to learn and get training on laparoscopic surgical skills.
The largest number of laparoscopic surgery for cervical cancer performed in the world (1,800 cases)
1,500 gynecologic cancer surgeries performed a year on average
35,000 gynecologic cancer patients visited to AMC a year on average
