Gynecologic cancer

Gynecologic Cancers:
Endometrial
Carcinoma

Endometrial Carcinoma

Endometrial carcinoma. Endometrial carcinoma is the most common type of uterine cancer (accounting for more than 90% of uterine cancers).1

Uterine carcinosarcoma (UCS). UCS has been classified as a high-grade endometrial cancer.2 Although UCS accounts for only 5% of all uterine tumors, it accounts for 15% of deaths caused by uterine malignancies.2

Classification of endometrial tumors is based on histologic subtypes. These subtypes are broadly termed type 1 or type 2 and are based on clinical and pathologic features.3

  • Type 1 tumors include grade 1 or 2 endometrioid adenocarcinomas.4 Endometrioid carcinomas are the predominant subtype and account for approximately 80% to 86% of endometrial cancers.3
  • Type 2 tumors include all endometrial carcinomas that are not type 1, such as papillary serous carcinoma, clear-cell carcinoma, undifferentiated carcinoma, and grade 3 endometrioid carcinoma.4 These cancers are poorly differentiated in histology.4
  • Incidence in the United States

    Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic malignancy in the developed world.5 In 2023, it was estimated that 66,200 cases of endometrial cancer would be diagnosed and 13,030 individuals would die from the disease in the United States.1

    Epidemiology in the United States

    From the mid-1990s, mortality rates for uterine cancer rose steadily, with a 0.7% annual increase from 2016 to 2020.1 Most patients with uterine cancer (67%) present with localized disease and have a 5-year survival rate of 95%.6 However, in patients with regional (20%) or distant (9%) metastasis, 5-year survival rates decrease to 70% and 18%, respectively.6

    Risk Factors
     

    An estimated 70% of uterine corpus cancers may be attributable to a lack of physical activity and excess body weight.1 Obesity can increase the amount of circulating estrogen, which is a strong risk factor for disease.1 Additional factors that may contribute to risk of uterine cancer include exposure to postmenopausal estrogen alone, late menopause, and a history of polycystic ovary syndrome.1 Medical conditions such as Lynch syndrome and type 2 diabetes may also be associated with increased risk.1

    Unmet Need
     

    Racial disparities remain among those with uterine cancer.1 Black patients are more likely than White patients to have advanced-stage or unstaged disease (44% vs 29%, respectively) and experience lower rates of 5-year survival (64% vs 84%, respectively; data from 2012-2018).1

    References: 1. American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts and Figures 2023. 2. Cantrell et al. Gynecol Oncol. 2015;137:581-588. 3. Mendivil et al. Cancer Control. 2009;16:46-52. 4. American Cancer Society. What is endometrial cancer? https://www.cancer.org/cancer/endometrial-cancer/about/what-is-endometrial-cancer.html. Accessed October 19, 2022. 5. Raglan et al. Int J Cancer. 2019;145:1719-1730. 6. National Cancer Institute. Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program. Cancer Stat Facts: Uterine Cancer. https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/corp.html. Accessed September 1, 2022.

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