Introduction
Cancer comes about when some cells within the body grow out of control. Cancer starting in the uterus is referred to as uterine cancer. There are two categories of uterine cancer: endometrial cancer, the most common cancer of the uterus, and uterine sarcoma, a rare kind of uterine cancer found in the muscles of other uterine tissues. Every woman is at risk of uterine, provided they have a uterus. The risk, however, increases with age and is most common among women who have undergone or are going through menopause2.
Endometrial Cancer
It is the most common type, and it starts in the womb. This type of cancer starts forming in the layer of cells forming the uterine lining, also called the endometrium. Sometimes, endometrial cancer is called uterine cancer since its the most common. Often, it is detected at its early stages because of the main symptom associated with it. It often produces abnormal bleeding of the vagina, enabling doctors to discover it early before it progresses. Once discovered early, the uterus has to be removed surgically, and this cures cancer. Other symptoms associated with it include pelvic pain, trouble urinating, and pain during intercourse.
Endometrial cancer is mostly associated with older women, usually above 50 years. Research statistics indicate that about 90 percent of the total number of women diagnosed with endometrial cancer are at least fifty years. Out of this statistic, the median age has been established to be 63 years. In terms of the geographic location or the geographical aspect of epidemiology, this type of cancer is most common among women in the United Kingdom (UK). It is also more common in western countries than in other continents, including Asia, South America, and Africa. However, it is becoming increasingly common in Asia.
Risk Factors
Several risk factors increase the susceptibility of women to endometrial cancer. These include changes in the balance of the female hormones. A change in the balance of hormones produced by the ovaries causes endometrial changes. Taking hormones containing estrogen but not progesterone after menopause is also a risk factor. Another risk factor is age. It is mainly associated with older women, especially those who have gone through or are at their menopause stages. Women who experienced longer periods of menstruation, having started before age twelve, are also at a higher risk3. One is also a higher exposure of endometrial cancer is they have never been pregnant than those who have experienced at least one pregnancy. Other risk factors include diabetes, hypertension, and obesity.
Pathobiology
Endometrial cancer frequently originated in the corpus area or the lower uterine segment. In low-volume cancer, there is frequently no evidence indicating residual disease after currage. Localized cancer manifests itself as circular polypoid expansile masses and is often hemorrhagic and friable. Diffuse endometrium involvement may also show an exophytic visible component, and hemorrhaging and necrosis can also be visible. The myometrium invasion foci appear as well-demarcated gray-white areas, which are lighter than the surrounding myometrium.
Molecular Basis of Endometrial Cancer
Recent studies have indicated that mutations take place in microsatellite sequences on some endometrial cancers1. Overexpression of the HER-2/ neu oncogene occurs in 10 percent of the cases of endometrial cancer, and this was found to have a connection with a poor survival rate. Moreover, there was an occurrence of some receptor tyrosine kinases in some cases. Microsatellite instability of the nonpolyposis colon cancer,...
…prognosis than those with late-stage diagnoses. Many recurrences take happen within the first years after treatment. Many women with an early diagnosis are treated by surgically removing the uterus to cure cancer. Generally, the twenty-year survival rate for each form of this type of cancer is approximately 80 percent compared to 53 percent for cases of papillary carcinomas and 62 percent for cases of clear cell. Prognosis is based on the stage and the type of cancerous cells. The five-year survival is between 74 and 91 percent in women with metastatic endometrial cancer. Also, increased all-cause mortality amongst endometrial cancer patients has proved to be significantly associated with increased BMI5.Current and Future Research
Researchers are currently discovering more about endometrial cancer to understand how to detect, prevent, and treat it. The NCI is currently looking to determine ways that would allow for the detection of endometrial cancer before it develops by using samples of tissues obtained from the uterus and are collected using tampons. Scientists compare the uterine tissues from women with a hysterectomy for this type of cancer with those with a hysterectomy for unrelated benign conditions1. They hope this will help them find new biomarkers that might eventually help in noninvasive early detection techniques. This has been done by designing a test known as Pap SEEK to analyze the uterine tissues.
Conclusion
Battling any cancer is never an easy journey, and aside from the medical treatment, moral support is always helpful as patients go through the healing process. Several precautions might be taken to reduce the risk of susceptibility to this form of cancer. These inlude maintaining a healthy weight, taking birth control pills, and talking with the doctor to get general education on endometrial…
References
Amant F, Moerman P, Neven P, Timmerman D, Van Limbergen E, Vergote I. Endometrial cancer. The Lancet. 2005 Aug 6; 366(9484):491-505.
Arora V, Quinn MA. Endometrial cancer. Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology. 2012 Jun 1; 26(3):311-24.
Burke WM, Orr J, Leitao M, Salom E, Gehrig P, Olawaiye AB, Brewer M, Boruta D, Herzog TJ, Shahin FA, SGO Clinical Practice Endometrial Cancer Working Group. Endometrial cancer: a review and current management strategies: part II. Gynaecologic oncology. 2014 Aug 1; 134(2):393-402.
Modugno F, Ness RB, Chen C, Weiss NS. Inflammation and endometrial cancer: a hypothesis. Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Biomarkers. 2005 Dec 1; 14(12):2840-7.
Ryan AJ, Susil B, Jobling TW, Oehler MK. Endometrial cancer. Cell and tissue research. 2005 Oct; 322(1):53-61.
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