Almost 35,000 women annually are diagnosed with cancer of the uterine lining (also called endometrial cancer) making it the most common of the gynecologic malignancies

 On this page:

• Who is at Risk?
• Symptoms
• Diagnosis
• Treatment

Who is at Risk?

• Postmenopausal women 
• Obese women 
• Women with high blood pressure 
• Women with a personal history of breast cancer 
• Women on unopposed estrogen and perhaps tamoxifen 

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Symptoms

The most common symptom is abnormal vaginal bleeding, particularly after menopause.

Diagnosis

Endometrial cancer is diagnosed typically by a simple biopsy, which can usually be performed during an office visit with minimal discomfort. A pap smear does not reliably detect uterine cancers. In the event that an office biopsy can not be obtained a sampling of the uterus (dilation and curettage, or D&C) is performed in the operating room.

Treatment

Primary therapy for uterine cancer is surgery. Some patients will require additional or "adjuvant" therapy which may include radiation, chemotherapy, hormonal manipulation, or combinations of the above. Clinical trials, using various forms of treatment, are underway at the University of Minnesota. (Also see: Patients with advanced hematologic malignancies and women's cancers sought for new clinical research studies)

See the Gynecologic Cancer home page for more information about treatment through the University of Minnesota Women's Cancer Center, clinical trials, gynecologic cancer research, and gynecologic cancer care team members.

More information about uterine cancer is available on the National Cancer Institute Web site.

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