Womb or uterine cancer/incidence increasing in UK

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4686344.stm

Concern over womb cancer increase
Elderly woman with carer
Cases of womb cancer in the elderly are increasing
More women with womb cancer are surviving the disease, but cases among the
over 60s are increasing, cancer experts say.

Five-year survival rates for womb cancer have risen 16% to 77% in the last
30 years, Cancer Research UK said.

But its figures also show incidence of the cancer among those aged 60 to
79 rose from 48 per 100,000 women in 1993 to 63 per 100,000 five years
ago.

Cancer experts said better awareness of the disease would help survival
rates.


EARLY WARNING SIGNS
Abnormal vaginal bleeding or discharge
Bleeding after the menopause
Low pelvic pain

Call to end womb cancer ignorance

Cancer of the womb affects around 6,000 women in the UK each year - twice
as many as cervical cancer - and accounts for 4% of all female cancers.

Womb - or uterine - cancer is the fifth most common form of the disease in
women and is the second most common cancer of the female reproductive
system, after ovarian cancer.

Despite treatment advances, around 1,500 women die from womb cancer each
year.

The more advanced the disease is, the less likely a woman is to survive to
the five-year mark.

The standard treatment for womb cancer is a hysterectomy - in which the
womb is removed.

For women with early stage disease, no further treatment is usually
necessary, but women with more advanced disease also need radiotherapy.

'Lowest in Europe'

Over 90% of womb cancers occur in women over the age of 50, and 75% are
seen in women who have been through the menopause.

Awareness of the disease is low and consequently women may not be aware
that vaginal bleeding after the menopause is a symptom of womb cancer.

Low pelvic pain is another symptom.

Lucy Boyd, an epidemiologist who compiled the Cancer Research UK report,
said: "It's encouraging to see that the incidence of womb cancer in the UK
is among the lowest in Europe, but the rise in cases in older women is a
concern.

"We feel it is vitally important to raise awareness of this disease and
encourage women to look out for the early symptoms.

"Survival rates would be even better if more women reported their symptoms
to their doctor at an earlier stage."

She added: "It is unclear exactly what causes womb cancer, but there are
some things that are known to increase a woman's risk.

"Overweight and obese women are twice as likely to develop womb cancer as
women of a healthy weight.

"This is due to higher than normal exposure to the hormone oestrogen, the
production of which is greater in overweight and obese women."

Other factors that increase risk include not having had children, late
menopause and the drug tamoxifen, which is used to treat and prevent
breast cancer.

Dr Lesley Walker, director of cancer information at Cancer Research UK,
said: "The improved survival rates are a result of the advances that have
been made in successfully treating this disease.

"However, it is also clear that even more lives would be saved if
awareness of this disease were better."

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