Uterine cancer on the rise among Black women 

According to a new report from The New York Times, cancer of the uterus is increasing rapidly and may become the third most common cancer among women by 2040 and the fourth-leading cause of death among women—-particularly Black women. 

A new study called from the Journal of the Medical Association Oncology finds that “Uterine cancer incidence has been increasing, particularly rates of aggressive, nonendometrioid subtypes, which are disproportionately higher among non-Hispanic Black women.”

Early warning signs of uterine cancer—also known as endometrial cancer—include a change in menstrual bleeding, before or after menopause, along with pelvic pain and painful urination and intercourse. Survival rates are high when it is detected early. 

Black women die from uterine cancer at twice the rate of white women and making it one of the largest racial disparities for any cancer, according to the Times and a report from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. 

The uterine cancer death rate for Black women is 31.4 per 100,000 women ages 40 and up, compared with 15.2 per 100,000 for white women in the same age group. 

“The striking statistic is that right now, in the year 2022, the number of women who will lose their lives to endometrial cancer in the U.S. is almost the same as those who will die of ovarian cancer, which is unbelievable to those of us in practice for the last 30 years,” said Dr. Carol Brown, a gynecologic oncologist who is the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center senior vice president and chief health equity officer.

The rate is also increasing for women of childbearing age with little to no other known risk factors.