Uterine cancer

Not to be confused with Endometrial cancer, Uterine sarcoma, or Ureteral cancer.

Uterine cancer or womb cancer is any type of cancer that emerges from the tissue of the uterus. It can refer to several types of cancer, with cervical cancer (arising from the lower portion of the uterus) being the most common type worldwide and the second most common cancer in women in developing countries. Endometrial cancer (or cancer of the inner lining of the uterus) is the second most common type, and fourth most common cancer in women from developed countries. Risk factors depend on specific type, but obesity, older age, and human papillomavirus infection add the greatest risk of developing uterine cancer. Early on, there may be no symptoms, but irregular vaginal bleeding, pelvic pain or fullness may develop. If caught early, most types of uterine cancer can be cured using surgical or medical methods. When the cancer has extended beyond the uterine tissue, more advanced treatments including combinations of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or surgery may be required.

Epidemiology

Age-standardized death from cancer of the uterine body per 100,000 inhabitants in 2004.

  no data

  less than 0.5

  0.5-1

  1-1.5

  1.5-2

  2-2.5

  2.5-3

  3-3.5

  3.5-4

  4-4.5

  4.5-5

  5-8

  more than 8

Uterine cancer resulted in about 58,000 deaths in 2010 up from 45,000 in 1990.

Uterine cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women in the UK (around 8,500 women were diagnosed with the disease in 2011), and it is the tenth most common cause of cancer death in women (around 2,000 people died in 2012).

External links

• Clinically reviewed uterine cancer information for patients
• UK uterine cancer statistics