Risk Factors and Prevention

​

• Age - Uterine cancer most often occurs in people over 50. The average age of those diagnosed with endometrial cancer is 60

• Obesity - Excess body fat spikes estrogen levels in individuals and correlates to a higher cancer risk

• Type 2 Diabates - Diabetes is more common in people who are overweight and less active, which are also a risk factor for endometrial cancer

• Hormones:

  • Early Menarche/ Puberty - Young women who start menstruating before 12,

  • Late Menopause - Women who begin menopause after age 53,

  • Difficulty getting pregnant or having fewer than five periods in a year before starting menopause,

  • Never been pregnant,

  • Using estrogen without progesterone,

  • Use of Tamoxifen, a drug called a "selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), which may be prescribed to reduce the risk of breast cancer or treat breast cancer.

• Heredity - Those individuals with close relatives that have or had uterine, colon, or ovarian cancer, or have been diagnosed with uterine cancer at a young age. Also, any close family members who have had more than one cancer may indicate there is an inherited altered gene that puts them at higher risk for uterine and other cancers.

​

Uterine / Endometrial Cancer PREVENTION

Noticing your risk factors may help prevent and lower your chance of developing endometrial cancer. Here are some examples of things you can do to help lower your risks:

​

• Get to a healthy weight and maintain that healthy weight because it lowers your risk of getting endometrial cancer. Women who are obese are more likely to get this type of cancer compared with those who have a healthy weight

 ​

• Getting regular physical activity / exercise is linked to lower risks of endometrial cancer, plus it helps you maintain a healthy weight

​​

• Discuss the pros and cons of hormone therapy with your doctor if you're thinking about using estrogen for symptoms related to menopause. How will that affect your risk of endometrial cancer?

​​

• Get treated for endometrial problems such as pre-cancerous conditions like endometrial hyperplasia. Most endometrial cancers are known to develop from less serious changes in the endometrium

​​

• Talk to your doctor if you have Lynch syndrome in your family as it has a very high risk of endometrial cancer.

​​