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Endometrial cancer (corpus and not otherwise specified uterine cancer) is both the most common type of uterine cancer and the most common cancer of the female reproductive system, accounting for approximately 6 percent of all cancers in women.

According to the American Cancer Society Cancer Facts & Figures 2006,
uterine cancer is the most common type of
gynecologic cancer closely followed by ovarian cancer.
In the United States, approximately 41,000 cases
will be diagnosed this year and nearly 7,350 women die from the disease this year.
Causes and Risk Factors

The cause of uterine cancer is unknown. Chronic exposure to estrogen (i.e., a female hormone produced by the ovaries) increases the risk for developing the disease and estrogen often affects tumor growth. The following factors increase estrogen exposure:

* Beginning menstruation before age 12
* Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) with estrogen only (without progesterone)
* Late menopause (after age 52)
* Presence of an estrogen-secreting tumor (e.g., some types of breast cancer)
* Nulliparity (having never given birth) or low parity


Medical conditions such as obesity, gall bladder disease, diabetes mellitus, and high blood pressure (hypertension) increase the risk for cancer of the uterus.

Other risk factors include the following:

* Age (more common after age 50)
* Family history of uterine cancer
* Personal history of breast, colorectal, or ovarian cancer
* PCOS-Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
* Prior pelvic radiation therapy
* Race (endometrial cancer is more common in Caucasian women while uterine sarcoma is more common in African American women)




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statistical content posted with permission from various resources.