What is uterine cancer?
Uterine cancer occurs when cells in the uterus grow and divide in an abnormal, uncontrolled way. Approximately 95% of uterine cancers are endometrial cancers that start in the lining of the uterus (endometrium). The less common form of uterine cancer is uterine sarcomas that start in cells of the muscle (muometrium) and connective tissue (stroma) of the uterus.
You can access further information about uterine cancer, including risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment from Cancer Council Victoria. You can also call our trusted cancer nurses on 13 11 20 for support and to learn about our range of services for people affected by cancer.
The Victorian Cancer Registry also operates an interactive web portal, Data Explorer, which provides more trends and statistics than published here.
How common is uterine cancer?
In 2020, 749 Victorian females were diagnosed with uterine cancer. Currently, uterine cancer is diagnosed at a rate of 13.4 per 100,000 females. The median age at diagnosis of uterine cancer is 64 (Figure 1 & 2). Accounting for 2.2% of all cancers diagnosed and 1.4% of all cancer-related deaths in 2020, uterine cancer was the 6th most commonly diagnosed cancer and the 7th most common cause of cancer-related deaths in Victorian females.
Trends in uterine cancer over time
Figure 3 shows that since 1982 incidence of uterine cancer has increased by an average of 1% per year in females. Over the past 38 years, mortality from uterine cancer has decreased by 0.1% per year in females.
Uterine cancer morphology
Figure 4 provides a summary of the different types of cells (morphology) which have caused uterine cancer among all cases. Most uterine cancer tumours, 73.1%, present as Endometrioid carcinoma tumours.
Uterine cancer subtypes
Figure 5 provides a breakdown of uterine cancer by subsite location in 2020. Most (97.1%) are found in the Endometrium section of the uterus.
Geographical variance in uterine cancer by local government area
Figure 5 demonstrates variation in age-standardised incidence rates of uterine cancer, by local government areas. Darker shading indicates areas with higher rates of uterine cancer.
Uterine cancer in people born overseas
Figure 7 shows the age standardised incidence rates of uterine cancer in Australian-born Victorian females compared to other major migrant groups, over the five-year period 2016 to 2020. The highest age standardised incidence rate of 15.6 was observed in those born in the Southern Europe region and lowest rate of 6.6 was observed in people born in the North-East Asia region.
Uterine cancer five-year relative survival
Figure 8 shows the change in 5-year survival for uterine cancer, and the 5-year survival trend for all cancers over the same time period. It demonstrates that five-year relative survival has increased for uterine cancer between 1985-1989 and 2015-2019 from 76% to 83%.