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Age

Getting older is associated with an increased risk of endometrial cancer.

Increasing age is one of the strongest risk factors for cancers of the uterus including endometrial cancer.

In Australia, statistics are only available for cancers of the uterus overall. However, 95% of cases of uterine cancer are endometrial cancer. Based on incidence rates in Australia, women who are 60 years old are approximately 8 times more likely to develop cancers of the uterus, including endometrial cancer, compared to women who are 40 years old.

In Australia, the average age of women diagnosed with cancers of the uterus is 65 years. Around 67% of cancers of the uterus in Australia are diagnosed in women aged 60 years or older. Approximately 3% of all cancers of the uterus in Australia are diagnosed in women under 40 years, 7% in women aged 40-49 years, and 23% in women aged 50-59 years.

The longer a woman lives, the more mutations occur in the body’s cells, and the more likely it is that these mutated cells will progress to cancer.