Incidence of Endometrial Cancer

Incidence of Endometrial Cancer

Endometrial cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women. Endometrial cancer is most common after the reproductive years, between the ages of 60 and 70 years. It is fairly uncommon in younger women although about 5% of women below 40 years are diagnosed with endometrial cancer.

The cancer is most commonly diagnosed after menopause and the highest incidence is in the seventh decade of life.

It is estimated that every year, endometrial cancer develops in about 142,000 women worldwide, and approx. 42,000 women die from this cancer. There has been an increase in the incidence of these cancers since the mid 1970s, and this has been attributed to the more frequent use of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT).

Sixty percent of endometrial cancers are categorized as what are called ‘adenocarcinoma’.

Endometrial cancer is more common in white women in comparison to black women.