endometrial cancer
Meaning of endometrial cancer: Endometrial cancer arises in the lining of the uterus and typically announces itself through abnormal vaginal bleeding, especially bleeding after menopause.
Definition of endometrial cancer
Endometrial cancer is cancer that forms in the endometrium, the tissue lining the inside of the uterus, the organ in which a fetus develops during pregnancy. It is one of the more common cancers affecting the female reproductive system.
Most endometrial cancers are adenocarcinomas, meaning they begin in the gland forming cells of the endometrium, though other, less common cell types exist as well. Risk is influenced by factors that increase lifetime exposure to estrogen unopposed by progesterone, including obesity, and the disease occurs most often after menopause.
Abnormal vaginal bleeding, particularly bleeding after menopause or unusually heavy or irregular bleeding before menopause, is the most common finding leading to a diagnosis, and it prompts evaluation with imaging and a tissue sample from the lining of the uterus. Endometrial cancer is distinct from cervical cancer, which arises lower in the reproductive tract, in the cervix.
Used in a sentence
Endometrial biopsy confirmed a diagnosis of endometrial cancer following evaluation of postmenopausal bleeding.
Good to know
Abnormal vaginal bleeding after menopause is considered a significant finding that warrants evaluation, since it is the most common presenting sign of endometrial cancer even though most causes of postmenopausal bleeding are not cancer.
Word origin
Where “endometrial cancer” comes from
Formed from Greek endon, meaning within, and metra, meaning uterus, describing the tissue lining the interior of the uterus.