![]() ![]() If you are taking (or plan to take) hormones after menopause, it's important to discuss the possible risks (including cancer, blood clots, heart attacks, and stroke) with your doctor. Still, taking this combination increases a woman's chance of developing breast cancer and also increases the risk of serious blood clots. Women who take progesterone along with estrogen to treat menopausal symptoms do not have an increased risk of endometrial cancer. This is called combination hormone therapy. To lower that risk, a progestin (progesterone or a drug like it) must be given along with estrogen. Estrogen treatment can help reduce hot flashes, improve vaginal dryness, and help prevent the weakening of the bones (osteoporosis) that can occur with menopause.īut using estrogen alone (without progesterone) can lead to endometrial cancer in women who still have a uterus. Estrogen is the major part of this treatment. Treating the symptoms of menopause with hormones is known as menopausal hormone therapy (or sometimes hormone replacement therapy). Estrogen from fat tissue has a bigger impact after menopause than it does before menopause. A shift in the balance of these hormones toward more estrogen increases a woman's risk for endometrial cancer.Īfter menopause, the ovaries stop making these hormones, but a small amount of estrogen is still made naturally in fat tissue. This produces a woman's monthly periods and keeps the endometrium healthy. The balance between these hormones changes each month during a woman's menstrual cycle. Before menopause, the ovaries are the major source of the 2 main types of female hormones - estrogen and progesterone. Many of the risk factors for endometrial cancer affect estrogen levels. Hormone factorsĪ woman's hormone balance plays a part in the development of most endometrial cancers. Gaining weight as you get older age and weight cycling (gaining and losing a lot of weight many times in your life) have also been linked to a higher risk of endometrial cancer after menopause. You can find your BMI using our body mass index (BMI) calculator. In comparison with women who stay at a healthy weight, endometrial cancer is twice as common in overweight women (BMI 25 to 29.9), and more than 3 times as common in obese women (BMI > 30). Having more fat tissue can increase a woman's estrogen levels, which increases her endometrial cancer risk. This can impact estrogen levels, especially after menopause. But fat tissue can change some other hormones (called androgens) into estrogens. A woman's ovaries produce most of her estrogen before menopause. Obesity is a strong risk factor for endometrial cancer and linked to hormone changes, which are covered in more detail below. These factors and how they affect endometrial cancer risk are covered in more detail below. Some of these, like pregnancy, birth control pills, and the use of an intrauterine device are linked to a lower risk of endometrial cancer, while many are linked to a higher risk. Treatment with radiation therapy to the pelvis to treat another cancer.Having had endometrial hyperplasia in the past.Having had breast or ovarian cancer in the past.Family history (having close relatives with endometrial or colorectal cancer).Things that affect hormone levels, like taking estrogen after menopause, birth control pills, or tamoxifen the number of menstrual cycles (over a lifetime), pregnancy, certain ovarian tumors, and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).Many factors affect the risk of developing endometrial cancer, including: Even if a woman with endometrial cancer has one or more risk factors, there's no way to know which, if any, of them caused her cancer. Some women with endometrial cancer don't have any known risk factors. Many women with risk factors never develop endometrial cancer. Others, like a person’s age or family history, can’t be changed.Īlthough certain factors can increase a woman's risk for endometrial cancer, they don't always cause the disease. Some risk factors, like smoking or sun exposure, can be changed. Different cancers have different risk factors. A risk factor is anything that raises your chance of getting a disease such as cancer. ![]()
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