Risk Factors

Endometrial Cancer

  • Use of hormones (estrogens without progesterones)
  • Obesity
  • Late menopause: after age 52
  • Menometrorrhagia: hemorrhagic menses
  • Stein-Leventhal syndrome: infertility, anovulatory menses, hirsutism, other endocrine abnormalities
  • Family history of multiple cancers
  • Personal history of breast cancer or rectal cancer
  • Age: less than 5% of cases occur before the age of 40; peak incidence is 70-89 years of age
  • Parity: infertility or nulliparity (no childbearing)
  • Granulosa cell tumor of the ovary (rare)
  • Other chronic conditions (hypertension, diabetes)

Placental Cancer

  • Genetic, more common in Asians than Blacks, and least common in Caucasians
  • Older women, particularly those older than 40 years
  • Multiple pregnancies
  • Hydatidiform mole
  • Pregnancy
  • Abortion
  • Ectopic pregnancy
  • History of other tumors of the female reproductive tract