According to a new study led by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, deaths from uterine cancer are rising in the United States, and are highest among non-Hispanic Black women.
We asked Northside gynecologic oncologist Dr. Michelle Glasgow to provide her perspective on the trend.
"Uterine cancer is the most common gynecologic cancer. The mortality rate from uterine cancer has been slowly rising over the last 10 years.
"Ovarian cancer has been considered to be the most lethal gynecologic cancer, however, the mortality rate of ovarian cancer (6 deaths per 100,000 women) has been decreasing due to advances in treatment, while the mortality rate of uterine cancer (5.1 deaths per 100,000 women) is now quickly approaching that of ovarian cancer.
"Researchers at the National Cancer Institute have recently demonstrated that death rate from uterine cancer is highest among non-Hispanic Black women. This is due in part to the more aggressive subtypes of uterine cancer being more common in this group of women. Researchers found that between 2010 and 2017, black women had twofold higher mortality rates than any other racial and ethnic group for any uterine cancer type as well as for the aggressive nonendometrioid subtypes.
"This study highlights the racial disparities in uterine cancer mortality. Many factors contribute to these disparities, and this study points to the need for more research in diverse populations to identify modifiable factors associated with these disparities and to improve treatment approaches."
- Dr. Michelle A. Glasgow, gynecologic oncologist
Reference:
Clarke MA,
Devesa SS, Hammer A, Wentzensen N. Racial and Ethnic Differences in Hysterectomy-Corrected Uterine Corpus Cancer Mortality by Stage and Histologic Subtype. JAMA Oncol. Published online May 05, 2022. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2022.0009
