Uterine cancer risk factors include hormonal imbalances, early menstruation, late onset of menopause, never being pregnant, and hormone therapy. Obesity, polycystic ovary syndrome, and diabetes can also increase risk. Hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer is also a risk factor.
There are many factors that can increase a woman’s risk of developing uterine cancer, including hormonal fluctuations that alter the balance of estrogen and progesterone in the body, earlier menstruation, or the late onset of menopause. A woman may also have a higher risk of developing uterine cancer if she has never been pregnant or is an older woman. Hormone therapy and a syndrome involving colon cancer also result in increased risks of this type of cancer.
One of the risk factors for uterine cancer involves the imbalance of the hormones estrogen and progesterone in the body. In a healthy woman, estrogen and progesterone are in balance with each other. When something disrupts this and allows estrogen to dominate for an extended period, a woman may face an increased risk of developing uterine cancer. Some examples of conditions where estrogen may dominate are polycystic ovary syndrome and diabetes. Obesity, however, can also cause or contribute to this problem.
Some problems with a woman’s menstrual cycle can also be risk factors for uterine cancer. If a woman started menstruating before age 12, for example, she has a higher risk of developing cancer of the uterus. Similarly, a woman who enters menopause at an older age has a higher risk. In both cases, this increase is a result of prolonged exposure to estrogen simply because the woman will have menstrual cycles for a longer time.
Some of the risk factors for uterine cancer have to do with age and pregnancy. An older woman, for example, has a higher risk of developing breast cancer. Similarly, a woman who has never been pregnant is more likely to develop it. Even a single pregnancy can reduce a woman’s risk of developing a cancerous tumor in this part of the body.
Hormone therapies also have a negative effect on a woman’s risk of uterine cancer. For example, a woman who takes a drug called tamoxifen to treat breast cancer faces an increased risk. Similarly, women who undergo hormone replacement therapy that includes estrogen but not progestins, a type of artificial progesterone, have a higher chance of developing this type of cancer.
Interestingly, there is also a connection between a colon cancer syndrome and the development of uterine cancer. A woman who has hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer faces an increased risk. You may be more likely to develop other types of cancer as well.
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