Endometrial Cancer

Endometrial cancer (also known as uterine cancer) is a disease in which malignant cells form in the tissues of the endometrium – the lining of the uterus. The uterus is a 3-inch-long, hollow, muscular organ in a woman’s pelvis where a fetus grows.

Obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes may increase the risk of endometrial cancer. Endometrial cancer may develop in breast cancer patients who have been treated with tamoxifen. A patient taking this drug should have a pelvic exam every year and report any vaginal bleeding (other than menstrual bleeding) as soon as possible. Also women taking estrogen alone have an increased risk of endometrial cancer.

Some 67,880 women in the United States are expected to be diagnosed with endometrial cancer and nearly 13,250 will die of the disease in 2024, according to estimates by the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. The five-year survival rate is 80.8 percent.

Cancer of the endometrium is different from cancer of the muscle of the uterus, which is called sarcoma of the uterus.

Endometrial Cancer Prevention (PDQ®) Endometrial Cancer Screening (PDQ®) Endometrial Cancer Treatment (PDQ®)

Source: National Cancer Institute