Uterine Cancer Health Article

UTERINE CANCER

Endometrial adenocarcinoma, or uterine cancer, is the most common genital cancer in women over forty-five years of age in the United States. Approximately 36,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, and 6,300 women ultimately die of the disease. The lifetime incidence is approximately 22 per 100,000. In over 90 percent of the cases, the earliest symptom is abnormal or postmenopausal bleeding. Almost 70 percent of uterine cancers are diagnosed early (while being confined to the uterus), and therefore are more apt to be cured. Uterine cancer is associated with hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. Hyperestrogenic states, pelvic radiation, and tamoxifen increase the risk of developing endometrial cancer.

THOMAS J. RUTHERFORD

(SEE ALSO: Cancer; Cervical Cancer)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists (1991). Carcinoma of the Endometrium. ACOG technical bulletin, no. 162. Washington, DC: Author.

Boronow, R. C.; Morrow, C. P. et al. (1984). "Surgical Staging in Endometrial Cancer: Clinicopathologic Findings of a Prospective Study." Obstetrics and Gynecology 63:825.