When you turn to Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute for cancer care, you get the expertise of world-renowned oncologists. But you also get something just as important: compassion.
Our gynecologic cancer specialists have access to a range of cutting-edge technologies and participate in weekly tumor boards. Working with other cancer care experts, they collaborate to put together a treatment plan that is just right for you. Their goal is to give you personalized, whole-person care that helps address your individual needs and effectively treats your cancer.
Your plan will include innovative therapies. But we also offer services to address your entire journey as a patient, including nutritional advice along with physical rehabilitation and pain management services. We are there for you from diagnosis and treatment through life after cancer.
What is uterine sarcoma?
The uterus is a hollow, pear-shaped organ. It’s where a fetus grows during pregnancy.
Uterine sarcoma is a rare disease in which cancerous (malignant) cells form in the muscles or supporting tissues of the uterus.
Uterine sarcoma is different from uterine (endometrial) cancers, which begin in the lining of the uterus known as the endometrium.
When physicians find uterine sarcoma before it spreads and the cancer is low-grade (cells appear close to normal), treatment is often highly successful. Cancer that spreads beyond the uterus typically has a poorer prognosis. However, physicians and researchers continue to search for better ways to treat the disease.
Types of Uterine Sarcoma
Uterine sarcomas are usually categorized based on the type of cell they start in. Types of uterine sarcoma include:
- Uterine leiomyosarcoma (LMS). This type starts in the muscle wall of the uterus. It’s the most common type of uterine sarcoma. The American Cancer Society reports those with LMS have a five-year survival rate of 60 percent if the cancer is confined to the uterus. The survival rate is about 12 percent if cancer has spread to distant areas of the body.
- Endometrial stromal sarcoma (ESS). This type starts in the connective tissue in the lining of the uterus (endometrium). The five-year relative survival rate for low-grade cancers that have not spread is near 100 percent and about 80 percent for cancers that have spread to distant areas of the body. Survival rates are considerably lower for high-grade cancers.
- Undifferentiated sarcoma. This type of cancer starts in the lining of the uterus (endometrium) or the smooth muscle tissue inside the uterus (myometrium). Five-year relative survival rates are 71 percent for cancers that have not spread, and 18 percent for those with distant spread.
Uterine Sarcoma Risk Factors
Risk factors for uterine sarcoma include:
- Being African American. Uterine sarcoma is twice as common in African-American women compared to women of other races. Physicians are unsure why this is the case.
- Being treated with tamoxifen for breast cancer.
- Having a mutation to the RB gene, which also causes a type of eye cancer called retinoblastoma. If your physician suspects you may have a genetic risk for uterine sarcoma, he or she will work closely with our clinical genetics service, which can perform tests that determine your genetic risk.
- Having previously received radiation therapy to your pelvis.
Preventing Uterine Sarcoma
Because the risk factors for uterine sarcoma are unavoidable, there is no known way to lower your risk for developing the disease. Although pelvic radiation increases risk, the benefits of radiation treatment for other types of cancer outweigh the risk of developing this rare disease.
Uterine Sarcoma Screening
There is no standard screening for uterine sarcoma. However, if you have received pelvic radiation for cancer, our physicians will work with you to develop a follow-up care plan that includes regular screenings and checkups. During these follow-up visits, we may conduct tests to check for uterine sarcoma and ask about any concerning symptoms.
