ABSTRACT

The American Cancer Society estimated that there will be 38,300 new cases of endometrial carcinoma diagnosed in the United States in 2001 (1). It is the fourth most commonmalignancy in women behind breast, lung, and bowel malignancies and is the most common gynecological malignancy. It will account for about 6600 deaths, making it the eighth most common cause of death frommalignancy in women and the second most lethal of gynecological malignancies after ovarian cancer (1). Endometrial cancer is primarily a disease of postmenopausal females, occurring most often in the sixth and seventh decades of life, with the average age of onset being 60 years old (2). Approximately 75% of cases will be diagnosed at an early stage where surgery remains part of the standard of initial treatment (2).