September is Gynecologic Cancers Awareness Month

join with the aacr to find better ways to prevent and treat gynecologic cancers

Uterine Cancer Awareness Month Gynecological GYN Cancer

Gynecologic cancers are cancers of the female reproductive system, including the cervix, ovaries, uterus, vagina, and vulva. All women are at risk for these cancers.

According to the National Cancer Institute, in 2024 more than 108,000 women in the United States are expected to be diagnosed with a gynecological cancer. Furthermore, about 32,000 will die from one. Each gynecological cancer has different signs and symptoms, as well as different risk factors. As often happens, the risk of developing cancer increases with age. 

The major categories of gynecologic cancers are: 

Cervical Cancer
Infection of the cervix with human papillomavirus (HPV) is almost always the cause of cervical cancer. Consequently, women who do not regularly have tests to detect HPV or abnormal cells in the cervix are at increased risk of cervical cancer. 

Ovarian Cancer
There are three types of ovarian cancer in adults. These include ovarian epithelial cancer, which begins in the tissue covering the ovary, in the lining of the fallopian tube, or in the peritoneum; ovarian germ cell tumors, which start in the egg or germ cells; and ovarian low malignant potential tumors, which begin in the tissue covering the ovary. 

Uterine Cancer
Uterine cancer forms in the tissues of the uterus, the organ in which a fetus develops. The two types of uterine cancer are endometrial cancer and uterine sarcoma. 

Endometrial cancer forms in the tissues of the endometrium – the lining of the uterus. Obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes may increase the risk of endometrial cancer. Uterine sarcoma is a rare type of cancer that forms in the uterine muscles or in tissues that support the uterus. Exposure to X-rays during radiation therapy can increase the risk of uterine sarcoma. 

Treatment with the breast cancer drug tamoxifen is a risk factor for both types of uterine cancer.

Vaginal Cancer
There are two main types of vaginal cancer: squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. Adenocarcinoma is more likely than squamous cell cancer to spread to the lungs and lymph nodes. A rare type of adenocarcinoma is linked to being exposed to diethylstilbestrol (DES) before birth. Adenocarcinomas that aren’t linked with being exposed to DES are most common in women after menopause.

Vulvar Cancer
Vulvar cancer forms in a woman’s external genitalia, most often the outer vaginal lips. 

Abnormal cells can grow on the surface of the vulvar skin for a long time. This condition is called vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN). Because it is possible for VIN to become vulvar cancer, it is important to get treatment.

Risk factors for vulvar cancer include having VIN, HPV infection, and having a history of genital warts.

ONE WOMAN’S STORY

Jaclyn “Jackie” VanRaaphorst is seeing good results from a newly approved treatment for ovarian cancer. “It is extremely important to continue the research and development on new therapies for all different types of cancer,” she says. Read her story in the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2023:

Jaclyn (Jackie) VanRaaphorst: Combating Stage III Ovarian Cancer, Thanks to Research

What is the AACR Doing in Gynecologic cancer research?

Scientific Conferences

Supporting Research

The AACR has recently awarded research grants to investigators pursuing promising research related to gynecologic cancers. In uterine or endometrial cancer specifically, these grants were made:

  • Victoria’s Secret Global Fund for Women’s Cancers, in Partnership with Pelotonia & AACR, awarded a Rising Innovator Research Grant in 2023 to Kemi M. Doll, MD, MCSR, University of Washington, for her study of “Dissemination Tool of Biopsy- First Early Detection of Endometrial Carcinoma: GUIDES BY US.”
  • Victoria’s Secret Global Fund for Women’s Cancers, in Partnership with Pelotonia & AACR, also gave a Rising Innovator Research Grant on 2023 to Joyce Liu, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The grant supports her study of “Targeting Wee1 and ATR in high-grade/p53-mutated endometrial cancer.”
  • In 2022, the AACR bestowed a Career Development Award to Further Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Clinical Cancer Research on Roberto Vargas, MD, Cleveland Clinic, for his study of “Evolutionary experimentation and radio-genomics in endometrial cancer.”

For a listing of grants in other gynecologic cancers, please see our page on ovarian cancer awareness.