Download Gynaecological cancer fact sheet

The Eve Appeal
Gynaecological cancer fact sheet
May 2012
Incidence and mortality
1. There are five types of gynaecological cancer - cervical, ovarian, endometrial,
vaginal and vulval
2. In the UK there are over 18,000 new cases of gynaecological cancer per year
and just over 7,700 deaths from a gynaecological cancer
3. That equates in the UK to 51 women a day diagnosed with a gynaecological
cancer, and 21 dying
4. There are more deaths in the UK from ovarian cancer than all the other
gynaecological cancers put together (4,373 from ovarian cancer, and 3,371 for
the other four put together)
Number of new cases and number of deaths per year1 of gynaecological cancers
Latest UK numbers as at May 2012
Type of cancer
Number of new cases
Number of deaths
(UK incidence 2008)
(UK mortality 2010)
2938
6537
7703
258
1157
18593
51
957
4373
1937
77
400
7744
21
Cervical
Ovarian
Endometrial
Vaginal
Vulval
Totals
Numbers per day
5. Worldwide a million women are diagnosed with a gynaecological cancer every
year and gynaecological cancers are the world's fourth largest cancer killer of
women.
* According to The Eve Appeal research in Aug 2011 – 82% of women asked do not
know how many gynaecological cancers there are (n=162)
1
Source CRUK website, accessed February 2012
Signs and symptoms of OVARIAN cancer
In April 2011, the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published new guidance on the
'recognition and initial management of ovarian cancer'.
The symptoms will look familiar to most women as they are commonly experienced in the general population.
However when they are experienced frequently (particularly more than 12 times a month), are persistent (they do
not go away) and are not normal for you (having started within the last 12 months), you should seek advice from
your GP as they could suggest ovarian cancer.
The symptoms include:
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Pelvic or abdominal pain
Increased abdominal size/persistent bloating (not bloating that comes and goes)
Feeling full early and/or lack of appetite
Urinary symptoms (needing to wee more urgently or more often than usual)
If you regularly experience any of these symptoms, which are not normal for you, it is important that you see your
GP. It is unlikely that your symptoms are caused by a serious problem, but it is important to be checked out.
Signs and symptoms of CERVICAL cancer
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Any unusual bleeding from the vagina, particularly
o after sex
o after the menopause when periods have stopped
Persistent vaginal discharge that is blood stained or smells unpleasant
If you have any of these symptoms, tell your doctor, even if you have been for screening. The chances are that
they are not due to cancer, but it is important to have them checked.
Signs and symptoms of WOMB cancer
Womb cancer is almost always curable if caught at an early stage
Cervical screening tests (previously known as smear tests) are not done to detect womb cancer
The key early signs and symptoms of womb cancer are:
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Vaginal bleeding after the menopause
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Vaginal bleeding between periods
If you have any abnormal bleeding, tell your GP straight away
Ovarian Cancer Fact Sheet
 Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer in women, after breast, lung,
bowel, and womb cancers.
 It is the fourth most common cause of cancer death in UK women. Each year in
the UK over 6,500 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and 4,400 women
die from the disease. The disease causes more deaths than all the other
gynaecological cancers put together.
 While treatment for ovarian cancer has advanced over the last 20 years, long
term survival rates have changed very little. Over the same period, survival rates
for breast and cervical cancers have greatly improved.
 Early diagnosis can help save lives – survival rates for ovarian cancer are higher
the earlier the cancer is diagnosed. Women with early stage ovarian cancer have
five-year survival rates in excess of 70% whereas women diagnosed with ovarian
cancer at a later stage have much lower survival rates of between 5% and 33%.
 Currently, over 70% of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year in the
UK will die. If diagnosed in the early stages, 90% could survive
 The UK has one of the worst survival rates for ovarian cancer in Europe. It is
estimated that in the UK, if survival rates matched the best survival rates in
Europe, 500 women’s lives would be saved every year
 Once known as ‘the silent killer’ because symptoms are vague and can easily be
confused with more common and less serious health problems, there is now
agreement on the signs and symptoms that could suggest an ovarian cancer
diagnosis and Key Messages for Women on the signs and symptoms of the
disease have been published by the Department of Health.
 Most cases of ovarian cancer are diagnosed in women who have gone through
menopause. This means that most cases are in women over the age of 50 but
younger women do also get the disease.
 There is currently no NHS screening programme for ovarian cancer (cervical
screening tests do not detect ovarian cancer) but a large-scale screening
trial in ovarian cancer screening is underway and initial results are encouraging.
 Currently, over 70% of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year in the
UK will die. If diagnosed in the early stages, 90% could survive
 82% of women don’t know how many gynaecological cancers there are .
Testament to the need for increased awareness.
 The average lifetime risk of ovarian cancer in the population is 1.8%.
o For those carrying the BRCA1 gene this risk rises to 54%
o For those carrying the BRCA2 gene this risk rises to 23%
 In April 2011, the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)
published new guidance on the 'recognition and initial management of ovarian
cancer'. See www.nice.org.uk/cg122
Cervical Cancer Fact Sheet
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Cervical cancer can affect women of all ages but is most common in women
between 30 – 45 years of age. It is the second most common cancer (after
breast cancer) in women under 35 however is very rare in women under 25.
Around 2,800 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed in the UK each year.
More than half of these diagnoses are in women aged under 50.
In 2008, cervical cancer caused the death of 957 women in the UK, a figure
which shows a 31% decade decrease in cervical cancer mortality. Cervical
cancer death rates have fallen almost two-thirds in the last 30 years.
Cervical screening began in Britain in the mid-1960s and the NHS Cervical
Screening Programme was set up by the Department of Health in 1988 since
when the incidence of cervical cancer has almost halved.
Women between the ages of 25 and 60 in the UK are contacted at least every
five years and asked to come for a cervical screening test.
o In England, women between 25 and 64 years are invited for screening.
o In Northern Ireland and Wales, women between 20 and 64 are invited for
screening
o In Scotland, women between 20 and 60 are invited for screening.
Early detection and treatment can prevent 75 per cent of cancers developing.
The programme screens almost four million women in England each year. In
March 2010, 79 per cent of eligible women attended screening sometime in the
preceding five years.
Almost all cases of cervical cancer are caused by a human papillomavirus (HPV).
More than 100 types of HPV have been identified and infection is widespread in
human populations but only a small proportion progresses to cancer. Just two
strains - 16 and 18 – are responsible for more than 70% of cervical cancers.
The risk of HPV infection increases the more sexual partners a woman has and
the more partners her sexual partners have had. However, infection can result
from just one sexual experience.
Since 2008, all girls in school year 8 (aged 12 to 13) in the UK have been
routinely offered immunisation against HPV strains 16 and 18 – the two HPV
types that cause the majority of cervical cancer.
Because the HPV vaccine does not protect against all cervical cancers, it is
important for all women to have cervical screening later in life.
Screening data
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4.3 million women were invited for a screening test in 2010/2011 compared to 4.1 million in the
previous year
3.4 million women were tested in 2010/2011 compared to 3.3 million in the previous year
As at 31 March 2011, the percentage of eligible women screened at least once in the last 5 years
fell to 78.6% from 78.9% in the previous year and from 79.5% in 2006.
Womb Cancer Fact Sheet
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Womb cancer, also known as endometrial cancer, or cancer of the uterus, is
cancer of the womb lining. It’s different from cervical cancer, which occurs at the
entrance to the womb
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Incidence rates of womb cancer have now risen to over 7,700 in the UK every
year with over 1,900 women dying from the disease
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Womb cancer is now the most common gynaecological cancer – and the fourth
most common cancer in women in the UK.
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Over a third of womb cancers are thought to be related to being overweight, i.e.
with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25 or over
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Because of lifestyle changes, including an increased rate of obesity, experts
believe there’ll be between 33% and 53% more cases by 2020
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Around 93% of womb cancers occur in women over 50. The age range at which
most women are diagnosed is between 60 and 65. Every year, around 25 women
under 35 and around 500 women under 50 will develop the disease
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Survival rates for womb cancer are higher the earlier it’s caught. Women
diagnosed at stage 1 of the disease have five-year survival rates of 80%,
whereas women diagnosed at stage 3 have lower five-year survival rates of
between 20% and 30%
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Incidence of womb cancer among women aged 60-79 has risen by 30% in less
than a decade and deaths have risen by 20% in the last decade
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But – five year survival rates have risen to 77%, an increase of 16% in the last
30 years
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The rise in deaths follows a steep increase in the number of women diagnosed
with womb cancer, with incidence rising by 43% since the mid 1990s
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There have been recent awareness campaigns on the signs and symptoms of
ovarian and cervical cancers, but none for womb cancer. The Eve Appeal joined
with the National Forum for Gynaecological Oncology Nurses (NFGON) to
produce a consensus statement and key messages to help raise awareness of
the signs and symptoms of womb cancer