Stage 4 metastatic endometrial cancer life expectancy

ON THIS PAGE: You will find information about the number of people who are diagnosed with uterine cancer each year. You will also read general information on surviving the disease. Remember, survival rates depend on several factors. Use the menu to see other pages.

This year, an estimated 65,950 people in the United States will be diagnosed with uterine, or endometrial, cancer. Uterine cancer is the fourth most common cancer for women in the United States. Worldwide, an estimated 417,367 people were diagnosed with uterine cancer in 2020.

More than 90% of uterine cancers occur in the endometrium. The number of people diagnosed with uterine cancer in the United States has increased by about 1% each year since the mid-2000s. However, recent data shows incidence rates for the disease may be stabilizing.

An estimated 66% of people with a uterine adenocarcinoma are diagnosed at an early stage. This is largely due to the presence of abnormal vaginal bleeding as an early symptom.

It is estimated that 12,550 deaths from this disease will occur in the United States this year. It is the sixth most common cause of cancer death among women in the United States. Uterine cancer is more common in Black women than White women, and Black women are more likely to die from the disease. From 2015 to 2019, deaths from uterine cancer increased by approximately 1% each year. However, like the incidence rates, the death rates seem to have stabilized recently. In 2020, an estimated 97,370 people worldwide died from uterine cancer.

The 5-year survival rate tells you what percent of people live at least 5 years after the cancer is found. Percent means how many out of 100. The 5-year survival rate for people with uterine cancer in the United States is 81%. The 5-year survival rates for White and Black women with the disease are 84% and 63%, respectively. Black women are more likely to be diagnosed with more aggressive endometrial cancers with lower survival rates. Learn more about health disparities and cancer.

When uterine cancer is diagnosed, if it is still located only in the area where it started, it is called “local,” and the 5-year survival rate is 95%. If the cancer has spread regionally, the 5-year survival rate is 69%. If the uterine cancer is diagnosed after the cancer has spread into other areas of the body, the survival rate is 18%. Approximately 38% of Black women are diagnosed at this stage, compared with 25% of White women.

Today in the United States, there are over 600,000 uterine cancer survivors.

It is important to remember that statistics on the survival rates for people with uterine cancer are an estimate. The estimate comes from annual data based on the number of people with this cancer in the United States. Also, experts measure the survival statistics every 5 years. This means the estimate may not reflect the results of advancements in how uterine cancer is diagnosed or treated from the last 5 years. Talk with your doctor if you have any questions about this information. Learn more about understanding statistics.

Statistics adapted from the American Cancer Society's (ACS) publication, Cancer Facts & Figures 2022, the ACS website, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer website. (All sources accessed January 2022.)

The next section in this guide is Medical Illustrations. It offers drawings of body parts often affected by uterine cancer. Use the menu to choose a different section to read in this guide.

  • Uterine Cancer: Types and Stages
    • Types of Uterus Cancer
    • Identifying the Uterine Cancer Stage
    • Uterine Cancer Stages
      • Stage 1 Uterine Cancer
        • Symptoms
        • Treatment
      • Stage 2 Uterine Cancer
        • Symptoms
        • Treatment
      • Stage 3 Uterine Cancer
        • Symptoms
        • Treatment
      • Stage 4 Uterine Cancer
        • Symptoms
        • Treatment

Stage 4 metastatic endometrial cancer life expectancy

Uterine Cancer: Types and Stages

If you’ve been diagnosed with uterine cancer, your doctor will likely tell you what stage you are in. Before determining your stage, your doctor will do tests such as a biopsy and an ultrasound to determine the type of uterine cancer you have. The uterus, often known as the womb, is a pear-shaped organ in which the fetus develops.

When uterine cancer is detected and treated early on, it is not lethal. In general, individuals with stage 1 uterine cancer had a 90% 5-year survival rate. The 5-year uterine cancer survival rate, on the other hand, varies depending on how far the disease has gone.

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Types of Uterus Cancer

Uterine cancer is divided into two types:

  • Endometrial cancer, the most frequent kind, starts in the uterus’ inner lining.
  • Uterine sarcoma is a rare form of cancer that begins in the uterus’ muscles or surrounding tissue.

Identifying the Uterine Cancer Stage

Knowing the stage helps doctors in uterine cancer prognosis. To determine the stage of uterine cancer, doctors employ two methods. The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics developed one approach (FIGO). The TNM staging method of the American Joint Committee on Cancer is the other. The two procedures are nearly identical. Tumor, lymph nodes, and metastasis are the three categories used in both systems (the spread of cancer).

Doctors add numbers following the letters T (Tumor), M (Metastasis), and N(Lymph nodes) in TMN staging to indicate how advanced your cancer is. When your doctor figures out the TMN staging, they’ll also figure out a larger set of numeral-based phases. Endometrial cancer is divided into four stages: I, II, III, IV or 1,2,3, and 4. Lower figures indicate that cancer hasn’t spread as far. If you’re at stage 4, the cancer cells have spread to other places of your body. In stage 0 of uterine cancer, cancer cells are only located in the endometrium’s top layer of cells, and they do not grow into the layers below.

Uterine Cancer Stages

Stage 1 Uterine Cancer

Cancer hasn’t gone beyond your uterus at this stage. It can also affect the glands in your cervix, a thin channel at the bottom of your uterus, but not the tissues.

  • Stage 1A: Cancer has spread to the endometrium, the inner lining of your uterus. It’s possible that it only went halfway into the underlying muscle.
  • Stage 1B: The malignancy has spread across the endometrium and more than half of the underlying muscle.

Symptoms

Unusual bleeding, such as spotting and bleeding in between menstrual cycles, is the most prevalent symptom. Your vaginal discharge may also be watery or blood-tinged.

Treatment

The typical treatment is a complete hysterectomy, which involves removing the uterus, cervix, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. The surgeon may also perform a pelvic cleaning. Your abdomen is flushed with a saltwater solution at this point. After that, it’s examined for cancer cells.

Surgery may be sufficient for some females. However, if you have larger masses or cancer that continues to spread, you may require further therapy. Cancer cells may have spread outside the uterus. Radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or vaginal brachytherapy, which distributes radioactive material to cancer cells, may be required to prevent your cancer from returning.

You may be allowed to take progestin treatment if you have stage 1A endometrial cancer and yet wish to have children. These hormones may aid in the shrinking or disappearance of the malignancy for some time, allowing you to become pregnant. If you aren’t careful, this choice can be hazardous. There’s a chance the hormones won’t function, causing cancer to spread.

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Stage 2 Uterine Cancer

Cancer has moved from the uterus to the tissue of the cervix at this stage, but it has not progressed outside of the uterus.

Symptoms

Unusual bleeding, spotting, or discharge are the most prevalent symptoms, just as they are in stage I.

Treatment

In most circumstances, you’ll have radical hysterectomy surgery to remove your uterus, surrounding tissues, and the upper portion of your vagina. The surgeon may potentially remove your fallopian tubes and ovaries. Radiation treatment or vaginal brachytherapy may also be required.

Stage 3 Uterine Cancer

Cancer has spread to the ovaries, fallopian tubes, vagina, or lymph nodes. However, it hasn’t harmed your bladder or the rectum’s inner lining.

  • Stage IIIA: Cancer has spread to the uterus’ outer layer, as well as the fallopian tubes and ovaries.
  • Stage IIIB: Cancer has progressed to the tissues surrounding the uterus or the vaginal opening.
  • Stage IIIC1: Cancer has gone beyond the uterus to the lymph nodes in the pelvis.
  • Stage IIIC2: Cancer cells have invaded the uterus’s body and the lymph nodes around the aorta.

Symptoms

You may experience pelvic or tummy pain in addition to irregular vaginal bleeding or discharge. Bloating, discomfort during sex, feeling full fast after eating, and bowel or bladder habits changes are further indications. You may also experience weight loss or feel a tumor in your stomach.

Treatment

If your doctor believes surgery can eradicate the malignancy, a surgeon may perform a complete or radical hysterectomy, removing your fallopian tubes and ovaries. After a pelvic wash, chemotherapy or radiation is administered.

Stage 4 Uterine Cancer

Cancer has spread to the bladder, rectum, or other organs not connected to the uterus, such as the lungs.

Stage IVA: Cancer has migrated to the bladder or rectum and perhaps surrounding lymph nodes.

Stage IVB: It can be located in the upper abdomen, the fat that supports your lower abdomen (called the omentum), or organs such as your lungs, liver, and bones, or the groin lymph nodes.

Symptoms

The symptoms of stage 4 uterine cancer are identical to stage 3. Symptoms such as bone pain or shortness of breath may also occur in regions where the disease has progressed.

Treatment

Radiation, hormone therapy, targeted therapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy are all possible treatments.

Consult your doctor immediately if you notice any of the above symptoms.

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with uterine cancer, contact All American Hospice. Our skilled caregivers can provide you with the medical care you require to feel more at ease.

How long can you live with stage 4 endometrial cancer?

The average survival for optimal surgical debulking was 32 months, compared to 12 and 13 months for women with inadequate or no debulking. Thus, there may be a role for surgically removing as much cancer as possible in women with widespread uterine cancer.

How long can you live with metastatic endometrial cancer?

5-year relative survival rates for endometrial cancer.

How does endometrial cancer cause death?

90% of pts who died of their endometrial cancer had disease outside of the pelvis at the time of death. Conclusions: These data suggest that death from endometrial cancer is largely due to abdominal (liver) and distant (lung) metastases, and this pattern of disease appears similar in endometrioid and HR histologies.

Can you beat stage 4 uterine cancer?

Unfortunately, the removal of all cancer cannot typically be achieved in patients with stage IV disease. Treatment of stage IV uterine cancer is dictated by the site of metastatic cancer and symptoms related to the spread of cancer.