Endometrial carcinoma is a malignant tumor arising from the uterus. It is one of the most common gynecological malignancy.  This year, about 39,000 female patients will be diagnosed with this malignancy in the United States.  Survival rate is relative favorable if the disease is diagnosed and treated in its early stages.  However, outcome is poor when the disease spreads to the pelvis or distantly. 

Table of Contents:

Pathophysiology - Understand the nature of the diseases.

Dermographics and Risk Factors - Endometrial cancer is  associated with certain preexisting health conditions. 

Clinical Appearance and Diagnosis - Catching the diseases in their early stages is important for their treatment.  

FIGO Staging System - Stage of the cancer is one of the most important prognostic factors. 

Treatment of the diseases - If found early, carcinoma of the uterus are surgically curable. 

Methods of Treatment - Details information about surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and hormonal treatment for endometrial cancer.  

Side Effects of Treatment  - Details information on side effects and complications related to the different treatment modalities. 

Treatment for Endometrial Cancer  - Treatment Information about treatment for this malignancy written for healthcare professionals.

Pathophysiology of the diseases:

The uterus is a hollow, pear-shaped organ. It is located in a woman's lower abdomen between the bladder and the rectum. Attached to either side of the top of the uterus are the fallopian tubes, which extend from the uterus to the ovaries.

The narrow, lower portion of the uterus is the cervix; the broad, middle part is the corpus; and the dome-shaped upper portion is the fundus. The walls of the uterus are made of two layers of tissue: the inner layer or lining (endometrium) and the outer layer or muscle (myometrium).

In women of childbearing age, the lining of the uterus grows and thickens each month so that it will be ready if pregnancy occurs. If a woman does not become pregnant, the thickened tissue and blood flow out of the body through the vagina; this flow is called menstruation.

The most common type of cancer of the uterus begins in the endometrium. This type of cancer is called endometrial or uterine cancer. In this booklet, we will use the term uterine cancer to refer to cancer that begins in the endometrium. A different type of cancer, uterine sarcoma, develops in the uterine muscle. Cancer that begins in the cervix is also a different type of cancer. This booklet does not deal with uterine sarcoma or cancer of the cervix. The Cancer Information Service can provide information about uterine sarcoma and cancer of the cervix.

As uterine cancer grows, it may invade nearby organs. Uterine cancer cells also may break away from the tumor and spread to other parts of the body, such as the lungs, liver, and bones. When cancer spreads to another part of the body, the new cancer has the same kind of abnormal cells and the same name as the original (primary) cancer. For example, if uterine cancer spreads to the lungs, the cancer cells in the new tumor are uterine cancer cells. Cancer that has spread from the uterus to other parts of the body is called metastatic uterine cancer; it is not lung cancer.

NEXT >>