Uterine (womb) cancer incidence statistics

Cancer of the uterus is the fourth most common cancer in women in the UK with 7,703 cases diagnosed in 2008 1-4, accounting for 5% of all female cancers (Table 1.1). There were 7,368 cases diagnosed in the body of the uterus; with the remaining 335 (4.3%) in a part unspecified within the uterus. It has been estimated that the lifetime risk of developing uterine cancer is 1 in 46 for women in the UK. This was done using the AMP method.5

Table 1.1: Uterine Cancer (C54-C55), Number of New Cases, Crude and European Age-Standardised (AS) Incidence Rates per 100,000 Population, UK, 2008

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*95% LCL and 95% UCL are the 95% lower and upper confidence limits around the AS Rate

Figure 1.1 shows the body of uterus and cervix, and outlining endometrium and muscle walls.

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Uterine cancer is the most common cancer of the female genital tract (Table 1.2).

Table 1.2: Gynaecological Cancers, Numbers of New Cases and European Age-Standardised (AS) Incidence Rates per 100,000 Population, UK, 2008

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Section updated 21/12/2011

The vast majority (93%) of uterine cancer cases are diagnosed in women aged 50 years and over. Incidence rates peak at 83 per 100,000 females diagnosed in their early seventies, but then decline from age 75 (Figure 1.2)1-4.

Figure 1.2: Uterine Cancer (C54-C55), Average Number of New Cases per Year and Age-Specific Incidence Rates, UK, 2006-2008

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Section updated 21/12/2011

Cancer of the body of the uterus (C54) is primarily a cancer of the developed world with incidence rates double those of the less developed countries.6 By contrast, developing countries have much higher rates of cervical cancer and, worldwide, there are three times as many cases of cervical cancer as corpus uterine cancer diagnosed each year.6

In North America, Australasia and many European countries, the incidence of cervical cancer has fallen with the introduction of screening and cancer of the corpus uteri is now the most commonly diagnosed gynaecological cancer. 6 Incidence rates for cancers of the corpus uteri are highest in Northern America; up to eight times higher than in parts of Africa (Figure 1.36). (World age-standardised incidence rates are not comparable to the European age-standardised incidence rates presented elsewhere in this section).

Figure 1.3: Cancer of the Corpus Uteri (C54), World Age-Standardised Incidence and Mortality Rates per 100,000 Population, World Regions, 2008 Estimates

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Note: The ICD-10 code for uterine cancer data worldwide is C54 only

Corpus uterine cancer (C54) incidence rates in the UK are above the European Union (EU-27) average, while the highest rates are found in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Latvia (Figure 1.4). Romania, Greece and Portugal have the lowest corpus uterine cancer incidence rates. 7

Figure 1.4: Cancer of the Corpus Uteri (C54), European Age-Standardised Incidence and Mortality Rates, EU-27 Countries, 2008 Estimates

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Note: The ICD-10 code for uterine cancer data for EU countries is C54 only 

Evidence from the US suggests important ethnic differences; uterine cancer incidence rates are higher in white compared with black women (24.8 vs. 20.9 per 100,000 females in 2004-2008).8

Section updated 21/12/2011

The age-standardised incidence rates of uterine cancer remained stable between the mid-1970s and early 1990s in Great Britain; since then, however, rates have increased by around 40%.(Figure 1.51-3)

Figure 1.5: Uterine Cancer (C54-C55), European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates, females, Great Britain, 1975-2008

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The corresponding trend for uterine cancer for the UK is shown in Figure 1.6.1-4

Figure 1.6: Uterine Cancer (C54-C55), European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates, UK, 1993-2008

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Uterine cancer incidence trends in most other European countries are similar 9, but are quite different in the US where age-standardised rates have recently been stable in white women but increased in black American women by almost 2% a year between 1999 and 2008. 8

There are important variations in the trends of uterine cancer incidence by age. The largest increases in rates are seen in those aged between 65 and 74, rising from around 45 women in every 100,000 in the mid-1970s to 80 in every 100,000 in 2006-2008. For those aged under 55 incidence rates have remained largely stable.( Figure 1.71-3).

Figure 1.7: Uterine Cancer (C54-C55), European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates, by Age, Great Britain, 1975-2008

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Section updated 21/12/2011

Prevalence data relate to those people in the UK population who were alive on a specific date having previously been diagnosed with cancer. The latest analysis shows that on 31st December 2006, almost 38,700 women were alive up to ten years after being diagnosed with uterine cancer10. Table 1.2 shows the one, five and ten year prevalence for uterine cancer.

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Section updated 30/6/2010