Cancer of the Uterus or Endometrium

Endometrial cancer in more common in older women who have had few children (see risk factors here). (Read review article here.) The standard treatment for endometrial cancer is surgery (generally for early cases a hysterectomy combined with removal of tubes and ovaries or TAH-BSO and for more advanced cases the pelvic nodes are removed and the para-aortic nodes at least sampled or TAH-BSO-PPLND.

If the cancer is a low grade (less mutated) and only minimally invasive then no further treatment may be necessary. Based on the patient's age and the number of risk factors found (high grade, deep muscle, vascular invasion, spread to cervix or nodes) will determine if additional postoperative treatment is necessary which may include pelvic irradiation (external beam) or vaginal cuff irradiation (i.e. HDR) or even chemotherapy or hormonal therapy. (To see the impact of high risk features go here, here, and here.)