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The Cause of Endometrial Cancer Essay

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Uterine cancer, sometimes referred to as endometrial cancer, is the most commonly diagnosed gynecologic cancer in the United States (ACS, 2013; CDC, 2012). Each year about 45,000 women get uterine cancer and about 8,400 women die from it (CDC, 2012). It is a cancer caused by abnormal cells growing in the lining of the uterus, or endometrium (ACS, 2013; CDC, 2012). The two major types of uterine cancer are adenocarcinoma and sarcoma. Adenocarcinoma develops from the endometrium, which make up more than 95% of uterine cancers (Amant et al., 2005). The endometrium plays a major role each month by swelling in preparation for pregnancy in women of reproductive age; and if pregnancy does not occur, then the lining sheds and flows out of the …show more content…

Endometrial cancer is rare in women under the age of 45 and slightly more common in white women; however, black women are more likely to die from it. Other risk factors associated with endometrial cancer include age, where women over 50 years are at greater risk; ethnicity; and having other cancers such as breast and ovarian cancer (ACS, 2013; CDC, 2012; NCI, 2010).
Classification
Nearly all uterine cancers start in the endometrium and are referred to as endometrial carcinomas or adenocarcinomas, meaning that they originate from a single layer of epithelial cells lining the endometrium (Creasman et al., 2003). The most common type of endometrial carcinoma is endometriod adenocarcinoma, which makes up about 80% of all endometrial carcinomas (Amant et al, 2005). Endometrioid cancer is composed of cells in the gland that resembles normal endometrium. The grade of endometrioid cancer is dependent on glands that form and look similar to the glands found in normal, healthy endometrium. The lower the grade, the more cancerous tissue forms glands (ACS, 2013; Amant et al., 2005).
Grade 1: tumors have 95% or more of the

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