Endometrial (Uterine) Cancer White Paper

Endometrial cancer is the most commonly occurring gynecologic cancer in Utah and it is usually found in someone with unusual vaginal bleeding, particularly after fifty years of age. The cure rate in this disease is very high and there have been many treatment advances over the past few years.  These advances have greatly minimized inconvenience and impact on an active lifestyle.

Endometrial cancer starts in uterus.  It spreads by growing into the muscle wall of the uterus and later it may involve the internal lymph nodes of the pelvis and abdomen.

Surgery is the starting point in endometrial cancer treatment.  The  goal is to remove the uterus and determine if lymph node spread has occurred.   In the past, this required a prolonged hospitalization and surgical recovery period.  The best current approach incorporates the use of a surgical robot.  This is a state of the art surgical instrument  which is completely controlled by the surgeon.  It enables the removal  of the tumor and necessary lymph nodes to establish the stage of the disease and usually to guide proper treatment.  This technique requires an overnight admission and usually only two weeks off work with much less discomfort than previous techniques, minimizing the effects on a productive lifestyle.  Special Gynecology and Oncology was the first to treat endometrial cancer in Utah using this approach and we have done well over 250 procedures to date .

Equally important advances have been made in the adjunctive treatment of uterine cancer.  In past decades, most patients with adverse disease factors were given daily radiation treatments to treat the entire pelvis over a period of five weeks.  The side effects from this therapy ranged from bowel and bladder irritation to rare but tragic effects on the normal tissues.  Currently, this treatment is reserved for patients with significant adverse risk factors determined by the staging  surgery.  Most patients who require post operative treatment now receive  limited vaginal radiation treatment administered in the office.  The risk of long term side effects is dramatically decreased and the treatment is far more convenient for the patient.