As with any cancer, early detection is the key to succesful treatment of uterine cancer. In the context of medical malpractice, a problem arises when the cancer because the doctor does not follow up apropriately on anobvious warning sign. For uterine cancer, the most likely warning sign is bleeding in post-menopausal women.
Approximately 40,880 women developed this form of malignancy in 2005 in the United States. After doubling in the early 1970s, the incidence of uterine cancer has remained fairly constant. In 2005, there were more than 7,000 deaths from endometrial cancer.
Endometrial cancer is primarily a disease of postmenopausal women. The average age at diagnosis is approximately 60 years. Women diagnosed with endometrial cancer when they are younger than 40 years make up only 5% of the total cases. These women invariably have specific risk factors such as morbid obesity, chronic anovulation, and hereditary syndromes. Endometrial cancer is more common in white women when compared to black women.
Invasive neoplasms of the female pelvic organs account for almost 15% of all cancers in women. In 2005, approximately 80,000 women in the United States were predicted to receive a diagnosis of pelvic gynecologic malignancy.
The most common of these malignancies is uterine cancer, specifically, endometrial cancer. Endometrial cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women, following breast, lung, and colorectal cancer, in that order. However, it is only the eighth most common cause of cancer deaths because it is usually detected in early stages.
Of the 40,880 cases of uterine cancer predicted for 2005, only 7,310 cancer deaths were predicted for the year. Ovarian cancer accounts for the largest number and highest frequency of cancer deaths from pelvic gynecologic malignancies, with 22,220 new cases and 16,210 deaths predicted for 2006.
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