Uterine Cancer Health Center

Doctors can’t explain the exact cause of uterine cancer, or why one woman develops it and another does not.

However, it is known that women with certain risk factors may be more likely than others to develop uterine cancer. A risk factor is something that may increase the chance of getting a disease.

These are the most common risk factors for uterine cancer:

  • Obesity. Women who are obese have a greater chance of developing uterine cancer.
  • Reproductive and menstrual history. Women are at increased risk of uterine cancer if any of the following holds true for them:
  • History of taking estrogen alone: The risk of uterine cancer is higher among women who used estrogen alone (without progesterone) for menopausal hormone therapy for many years.
  • History of taking tamoxifen: Women who took the drug tamoxifen to prevent or treat breast cancer are at increased risk of uterine cancer.
  • History of having radiation therapy to the pelvis: Women who had radiation therapy to treat cancer in the pelvis are at increased risk of uterine cancer.
  • Family health history. Women with a mother, sister or daughter with uterine cancer are at increased risk of developing the disease.

Many women who get uterine cancer have none of these risk factors, and many women who have known risk factors don’t develop the disease.

Review Date: 
March 29, 2012
Last Updated:
June 28, 2013
Source:
dailyrx.com