Article Medically Reviewed By:
Joan L. Walker, MD
Professor, Gynecologic Oncology University of Oklahoma Oklahoma City, OK
Overview
What Is It?
Cancer of the inner lining of the uterus, called the endometrium, is the most common cancer of the female reproductive tract. Early symptoms include abnormal vaginal bleeding or postmenopausal bleeding.
Cancer of the inner lining of the uterus, called the endometrium, is the most common cancer of the female reproductive tract. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 42,160 new cases of cancer of the uterine body, most of which are endometrial cancers, will be detected in the United States in 2009, resulting in about 7,780 deaths. The good news is that the prognosis is excellent if the cancer is detected and treated early.
The vast majority of women diagnosed with endometrial cancer are postmenopausal; more than half of cases occur in women ages 55 to 74 and only five to 10 percent of cases occur in women under age 40. Younger women who develop the condition tend to be obese.
Unlike ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer has a major, identifiable symptom in its early stages: abnormal vaginal bleeding, or postmenopausal bleeding. This symptom occurs in 90 percent of endometrial cancer cases. Other symptoms include pelvic pressure, a pelvic mass, abnormal discharge that doesn't look like blood, difficulty and pain during urination and pain during intercourse.
One of the biggest risk factors for developing endometrial cancer is obesity. Other risks include diabetes and a strong family history of colon cancer, particularly a type of colon cancer known as hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer, or HNPCC. Other risks are never having had children and having a late menopause. Together, these risks can lead to continued estrogen stimulation of the endometrial tissue. In other words, the tissue continues to grow and divide unopposed, or without a break, which increases the risk of cell division growing out of control.
Although endometrial cancer is more common in Caucasian women than African-American women, more African-American women die from the disease. Additionally, the older you are at diagnosis, the greater your risk of death from the cancer.
A much less common form of uterine cancer is sarcoma of the uterus, which is extremely aggressive. In this rare form of uterine cancer, cancer cells originate from the muscles or other supporting tissues of the uterus. Women who have received therapy with high-dose x-rays to their pelvis have a high risk for some types of uterine sarcomas. Sarcoma of the uterus usually begins after menopause. The prognosis and choice of treatment depend on the stage of the sarcoma, how fast the cancer cells grow and the woman's general health.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis
The primary symptom of uterine cancer is abnormal vaginal bleeding, especially after menopause. Bleeding may be so light that it's only a pink discharge or drainage from the vagina.
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