Risk factors for endometrial cancer
It is not possible to say what causes endometrial cancer in a single person. We do know there are some features that are more common in people who develop breast cancer. These features are called “risk factors”.
But it is usually hard to be sure whether a risk factor contributed to the development of the cancer. And having one or more risk factors does not mean that someone will develop this cancer. In fact, many people with endometrial cancer have no obvious risk factors.
Some factors can even lower your risk of developing endometrial cancer.
Risk factors for endometrial cancer that you can change:
- being overweight
- having high blood pressure or diabetes.
Risk factors for endometrial cancer that you can’t change:
- being post-menopausal (having gone through the menopause, or 'change of life')
- never having children
- family history of ovarian, endometrial or bowel cancer
- having a thickened lining of the womb (endometrial hyperplasia)
- having taken female hormones, such as the oral contraceptive pill (OCP or “the pill), or hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
- taking tamoxifen, a drug used to treat breast cancer
- previous tumours on the ovaries or polycystic ovary syndrome
- having a genetic condition such as Lynch syndrome.