Womb cancer
What is womb cancer? Find out how common it is, the causes, and expert advice on how to reduce your risk.
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What is womb cancer?
The womb is part of a woman’s reproductive system. It’s where the baby grows during pregnancy.
During a woman’s menstrual cycle, the womb lining thickens in preparation for pregnancy. If pregnancy occurs, the fertilized egg sits on the lining and it’s where the foetus starts to grow. The womb lining itself forms the placenta. If the egg isn’t fertilized, the thick lining is shed during menstruation (monthly periods).
Anyone with a womb can get womb cancer.
The medical term for the womb is uterus, so womb cancer is also known as uterine cancer.
The most common type of womb cancer occurs in the cells that line the inside of the womb, called the endometrium. Womb cancer is sometimes called endometrial cancer.
How common is womb cancer?
Womb cancer is the 11th most common cancer in the UK (2021 data), and the 15th most common in the world (2022 data).
Womb cancer is the 4th most common cancer in women in the UK, and the 6th most common in women globally.
| Region | Cases | Year |
|---|---|---|
| UK | 10,582 | 2021 |
| World | 420,368 | 2022 |
What are the signs and symptoms of womb cancer?
The main symptoms of womb cancer include:
- bleeding or spotting from the vagina after the menopause
- heavy periods that are unusual for you
- vaginal bleeding between periods
- a change to vaginal discharge
Find more information on womb cancer symptoms on the NHS website.
Women’s health guide
Find out the facts and stay in control of your health with our free booklet
What causes womb cancer?
There are many different things that affect your risk of womb cancer.
Evidence for what can cause womb cancer comes from large population studies (called epidemiology) and biological studies (where scientists look at cells in a laboratory).
If the risk factors below affect you, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you will develop womb cancer.
Weight
Women living with overweight or obesity have a higher risk of womb cancer.
Glyceamic load
Glyceamic load increases the risk of womb cancer. Glycaemic load looks at all the foods and drinks consumed over a day and measures the effect on blood sugar levels.
This is different from glycaemic index (GI), which looks at how individual foods or drink affect blood sugar levels if consumed on their own.
More research needs to be done on the impact of glycaemic load on womb cancer risk. We recommend that people enjoy a balanced diet with plenty of plant foods and avoid sugary and processed foods.
HRT
Taking oestrogen-only HRT (hormone replacement therapy) increases the risk of womb cancer. This type of HRT is normally only prescribed to women who have had a hysterectomy (surgical removal of the womb).
Menstrual cycles
The risk of womb cancer is affected by how many periods a woman has during her lifetime.
Not having children and having the menopause after the age of 55 increase the risk of womb cancer, because they increase the number of menstrual cycles a woman has.
Tamoxifen
Tamoxifen is a drug used to treat breast cancer. It can increase a woman’s risk of womb cancer.
Family history
Women with a family history of womb or bowel cancer have a higher risk of womb cancer.
Height
Taller women have a higher risk of womb cancer.
Age
The risk of developing womb cancer increases with age.
What protects against womb cancer?
Physical activity
Being physically active reduces the risk of womb cancer.
Coffee
Drinking coffee reduces the risk of womb cancer. However, more research is needed on how much you should drink, how frequently, and whether the type of coffee makes a difference. We also need to be sure that coffee doesn’t have any harmful effects on health.
Menstrual cycles
The risk of womb cancer is affected by how many periods a woman has during her lifetime.
Having children and having your menopause before the age of 55 reduce the risk of womb cancer, because they decrease the number of menstrual cycles a woman has.
Contraception
Oral contraceptives, either a combination of oestrogen and progesterone, or progesterone only, reduce the risk of womb cancer.
Other risk factors
Our Expert Panel of scientists has also looked at other things that may be linked with the risk of womb cancer. They found that sitting too much (sedentary habits) may increase your risk of womb cancer. However, the evidence for a link is less strong than the risk factors listed above.
For scientists: full references, pathogenesis and a summary of the mechanisms underpinning our findings on how to prevent womb cancer can be found in our 2018 womb cancer report.
Reduce your risk of womb cancer
Following our Cancer Prevention Recommendations reduces your risk of womb cancer. If you have been diagnosed with cancer, following our Recommendations can reduce the risk of cancer returning.
Be a healthy weight
Reaching – and staying at – a healthy weight can reduce your risk of womb cancer, many other cancers, and other diseases.
But it’s not easy! Eating a good diet and moving more are great places to start.
Visit our weight and cancer page for more information about how our weight affects our risk of developing cancer, and support to help you stay a healthy weight.
> Weight matters: get a free guide with realistic tips and advice from experts
Be more active
Being physically active reduces your risk of womb cancer. We recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity a week, and to sit less. The more active you are the better.
Womb cancer survival
Our Living with cancer section can help if you are living with womb cancer.
