This One Type Of Cancer Is Increasing In All Women, But One Group Is Particularly At Risk

There were nearly 70,000 cases of uterine cancer in 2024, according to the National Cancer Institute. 

Uterine cancer involves cancer of what many folks think of as the womb, “or the place where a pregnancy is housed and grows,” said Dr. Ami Vaidya, a gynecological cancer doctor at Hackensack Meridian Health in New Jersey.

“The uterus has two components; there’s a muscle wall and there’s a lining, an inner portion of the uterus that consists of glandular tissue,” Vaidya explained.

“And I mentioned these two different areas because very different cancers can start in the two different areas of the uterus,” she noted. 

It’s more common to see cancer in the lining, which is known as endometrial cancer, Vaidya said. “And although there are several different types within that category, as a group, that is more common than the cancers that can start in the muscle wall — the cancers that start in the muscle wall are called sarcomas or leiomyosarcomas,” she said.

Uterine cancer rates are rising, said Dr. Ebony Hoskins, a gynecologic oncologist in Washington, D.C., and member of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology.

Rates of endometrial cancer, specifically, have actually surpassed ovarian cancer rates. This makes it the most common GYN cancer in the country, Hoskins added.

Roughly 12,000 people die of ovarian cancer each year, while more than 13,000 die of endometrial cancer, said Hoskins. Here’s what to know:

There isn’t currently a screening test, but there are symptoms you should look out for.