Uterine Cancer Statistics in US 2026 | Treatments for Uterine Cancer

Uterine Cancer in America 2026

Uterine cancer is the most common cancer of the female reproductive system in the United States, and unlike most major cancers, it is getting worse — not better. While the overall US cancer mortality rate dropped 34% between 1991 and 2023, uterine cancer has moved in the opposite direction for more than a decade. Age-adjusted death rates climbed 1.6% every year between 2014 and 2023, according to the NCI Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. The American Cancer Society’s Cancer Facts & Figures 2026 report — released January 13, 2026 — projects 68,270 new uterine cancer diagnoses in the US this year alone, with 14,450 deaths. That puts uterine cancer among the cancers where incidence is still rising even as oncology has made genuine strides on other fronts. It is listed alongside breast, prostate, pancreatic, and melanoma cancers as a cancer where new case counts continue to climb in 2026. The medical community has been raising alarms about this trajectory for years. The question of why more people aren’t hearing about it is a legitimate one.

The disease primarily targets the endometrium — the inner lining of the uterus — which is why it is also called endometrial cancer in most clinical and research contexts. That is the most common form. Uterine sarcomas, which arise from the muscle or other tissues of the uterus, make up a smaller but more aggressive share of cases. There are currently more than 600,000 uterine cancer survivors in the United States, a number that reflects both the rising incidence and the fact that most cases are caught relatively early, when abnormal vaginal bleeding triggers an evaluation. About 68% of uterine cancers are diagnosed at an early, localized stage, which is where the good news in this disease lives — early detection dramatically changes outcomes. The 5-year relative survival rate for localized endometrial cancer is 95%. For cancer that has already spread to distant organs, that number falls to 21%. Getting there early matters enormously.

Key Interesting Facts: Uterine Cancer in the US 2026

UTERINE CANCER AT A GLANCE — US 2026
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New Cases (2026 projection)    ████████████████████████████████░  68,270
Deaths (2026 projection)       ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  14,450
5-yr Survival (All Stages)     ████████████████████████████████░   84%
5-yr Survival (Localized)      ████████████████████████████████▊   95%
5-yr Survival (Regional)       ████████████████████████░░░░░░░░░   71%
5-yr Survival (Distant)        █████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░   21%
Early Stage Diagnoses          ██████████████████████████████░░░   68%

DEATH RATE BY RACE (per 100,000)
==================================
Black women   ████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░  9.0 per 100,000
White women   ██████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  4.6 per 100,000
Disparity:    Black women die at nearly 2x the rate of White women

INCIDENCE TREND (annual change)
=================================
New cases:  +0.7%/year (2013-2022)
Death rate: +1.6%/year (2014-2023)  ← rising while most cancers decline

Source: American Cancer Society Cancer Facts & Figures 2026; NCI SEER Program; AACR Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention (July 2025); American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology (June 2024); ASCO

Pull back far enough and the numbers here tell a specific, uncomfortable story. Uterine cancer is on the ACS’s 2026 list of cancers where incidence keeps climbing — alongside breast, prostate, and pancreatic cancers. That is not what you want to be on. Most major cancers have bent their incidence curves downward over the past two decades through earlier screening, behavioral changes, or improved treatment that extends life long enough to change aggregate statistics. Uterine cancer has not. The +0.7% annual case increase and the +1.6% annual death rate increase running simultaneously mean the gap between people getting diagnosed and people surviving is actually widening. The death rate is climbing faster than the case rate. The 68% early-diagnosis rate is the one genuinely good number in this table — it is the reason the overall 5-year survival rate sits at a respectable 84%. The disease tends to announce itself early through bleeding, which prompts women to get evaluated while the cancer is still confined to the uterus. When that happens, 95% of patients are alive five years later. The problem is that roughly one in three Black women is not getting that early diagnosis — they present at distant stage at a rate nearly one and a half times higher than white women, and their death rate is nearly double as a result.

The emerging data on younger women is something researchers are watching closely. A study in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology found that among women under 50, uterine cancer incidence rose 1.7% per year between 2000 and 2019 — and for women in their twenties specifically, it rose 3.0% per year, the steepest age-group increase tracked. This is not a disease that can be dismissed as something that only happens to older postmenopausal women. The obesity epidemic is a major driver of this shift — approximately 50% of endometrial cancer cases in the US and Europe are estimated to be attributable to obesity, which elevates estrogen levels in ways that promote endometrial cell proliferation. As the average age of onset of obesity-related metabolic dysfunction drops, younger women are accumulating risk earlier.

Uterine Cancer Incidence and Mortality Trends in the US 2026

UTERINE CANCER — ANNUAL TREND CHART (NEW CASES, APPROX. US)
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2010  ████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░  ~43,000 new cases
2015  █████████████████████████░░░░░░  ~54,000 new cases
2018  ████████████████████████████░░░  ~63,000 new cases
2020  ████████████████████████████░░░  ~65,000 new cases
2022  █████████████████████████████░░  ~66,000 new cases
2025  █████████████████████████████░░  ~67,000 new cases (est.)
2026  ██████████████████████████████░  ~68,270 new cases (ACS projection)

DEATH RATE PER 100,000 — TREND (AGE-ADJUSTED)
===============================================
2000  ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  ~4.2
2010  ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  ~4.4
2018  █████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  ~5.2
2023  █████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  ~5.8 (est., +1.6%/yr since 2014)
2050* ██████████░░░░░░░░░░░  ~11.2 (white) / ~27.9 (Black) ← AACR projection

*AACR incidence-based mortality projections, Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, July 2025

Source: ACS Cancer Facts & Figures 2026 (January 13, 2026); NCI SEER Program; AACR Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention study (July 2025); American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology (June 2024); ACS Cancer Statistics, 2025 (CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians)

The AACR’s July 2025 projection study is genuinely alarming in its long-range modeling. Published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, it projects that if current trends hold, uterine cancer incidence and mortality will not peak mid-century — they will still be climbing in 2050. For Black women specifically, the projected 2050 mortality rate of 27.9 per 100,000 would represent roughly double the rate in 2018 — and the 2018 rate was already nearly double that of white women. The study’s lead author, Dr. Jason D. Wright of Columbia University’s Division of Gynecologic Oncology, noted that “uterine cancer is one of the few cancers where both incidence and mortality have been increasing” — a distinction that makes it stand apart in a cancer landscape where most major diseases are slowly improving on at least one of those two measures.

The trend data also shows something that receives less attention than it deserves: uterine cancer mortality is climbing faster than incidence. Between 2014 and 2023, the death rate rose 1.6% annually while the incidence rate rose just 0.7% annually between 2013 and 2022. That divergence means the disease is getting more lethal over time relative to how many people are being diagnosed — likely a combination of more aggressive tumor types being diagnosed in later stages, and the disproportionate mortality burden falling on Black women who face more barriers to timely, high-quality treatment. The ACS’s 2026 projection of 14,450 deaths — up from approximately 11,000 in 2017 — reflects a 31% increase in annual deaths in less than a decade, without a commensurate improvement in treatment access or early detection equity.

Uterine Cancer by Race, Age and Demographics in the US 2026

UTERINE CANCER RACIAL DISPARITIES — US 2026
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DEATH RATE (per 100,000 women):
Black       ████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░  9.0 — nearly twice the national rate
White       ██████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  4.6
Overall avg ████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  ~5.8 (estimated)

STAGE AT DIAGNOSIS — BLACK vs. WHITE WOMEN:
                        Black       White
Localized stage         ██████████  ~62%     █████████████████████ ~75%
Distant stage           ████████    ~38%     ██████               ~25%

INCIDENCE IN YOUNG WOMEN (annual % increase, 2000–2019)
=========================================================
Age 20–29   ████████████░░░░░░░░  +3.0%/year (fastest-growing group)
Age 30–39   ████████████░░░░░░░░  +3.3%/year
Age 40–49   ██████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  +1.3%/year
Overall 40+ █████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  +0.7%/year (SEER 2013–2022)

Source: American Cancer Society Cancer Facts & Figures 2026; NCI SEER; ASCO; American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology (June 2024)

The racial disparity in uterine cancer deaths is not subtle — it is one of the starkest documented inequities in American oncology. The ACS’s 2026 report does not hedge on the cause: the nearly doubled death rate in Black women is attributed “largely to unequal access to high-quality treatment.” It is not primarily explained by differences in risk factors, though Black women are more likely to be diagnosed with more aggressive non-endometrioid subtypes. The bigger driver is that 38% of Black women are diagnosed at distant stage, compared to 25% of white women — a difference that tracks directly onto the survival gap between 21% (distant stage) and 95% (localized stage). That is not a biology story. It is a healthcare access and trust story, rooted in documented patterns of racial bias in clinical settings, differences in insurance coverage, and geographic barriers to gynecologic oncology specialists.

The data on younger women deserves more public attention than it gets. The fastest case growth by age group — +3.3% per year among women in their thirties — runs directly counter to the mental model most people carry of uterine cancer as a postmenopausal disease. Researchers link this rise to rising rates of obesity and metabolic syndrome in younger women, which elevate circulating estrogen levels and accelerate endometrial cell changes. The most common early symptom — abnormal vaginal bleeding — is the same across all ages, but younger women and their doctors may be less likely to connect it with uterine cancer risk and trigger an evaluation promptly. This is the detection window that matters most, and the one most likely to close before anyone notices.

Uterine Cancer Survival Rates in the US 2026

UTERINE CANCER 5-YEAR SURVIVAL RATES — US (SEER DATA 2015–2021)
=================================================================

ENDOMETRIAL CANCER (most common type):
Localized (Stage I-II)   ████████████████████████████████████████████████ 95%
Regional (Stage III)     ████████████████████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░ 71%
Distant (Stage IV)       ██████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 21%
All stages combined      ████████████████████████████████████████░░░░░░░░ 84%

UTERINE SARCOMA (less common, more aggressive):
All stages combined      ███████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 38%

SURVIVAL COMPARISON — RACIAL DISPARITY:
Black women (all stages) ████████████████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  63% (approx.)
White women (all stages) █████████████████████████████████████████░░░░░░  84%

Source: ACS Cancer Facts & Figures 2026; NCI SEER Program (2015–2021 survival data); American Cancer Society Endometrial Cancer Survival Rates page (updated January 2026)

The 84% overall 5-year survival for endometrial cancer looks reassuring on the surface, but the 21% survival at distant stage is where the disease gets brutal — and it is the number that explains why reducing late-stage diagnoses in Black women is the most actionable lever for improving outcomes. Uterine sarcoma is a separate and significantly harder disease: at 38% overall 5-year survival, it is substantially more aggressive than endometrial cancer and accounts for roughly 5–10% of all uterine cancer cases. The two cancers share a location but are biologically and clinically distinct, and the treatment approaches differ considerably.

The ACS explicitly notes in its 2026 materials that the SEER survival figures — based on people diagnosed between 2015 and 2021 — likely understate current outcomes, because they predate several recent advances in immunotherapy and targeted therapy. That caveat is not empty reassurance. The approval of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and dostarlimab (Jemperli) for specific subsets of advanced and recurrent endometrial cancer has genuinely changed the prognosis for patients with mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR) tumors — a molecular subtype that predicts response to these checkpoint inhibitors. Patients in that category who previously faced grim options for recurrent disease now have treatment paths with meaningful clinical response rates. These approvals arrived after 2021, so the survival numbers improving from them will not fully show up in population-level SEER data for another several years.

Treatments for Uterine Cancer in the US 2026

UTERINE CANCER TREATMENT OPTIONS OVERVIEW — 2026
=================================================

PRIMARY TREATMENT:
Surgery (Hysterectomy)     ████████████████████████████████████████  Gold standard, most patients
  + Bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy + lymph node staging = complete surgical staging

ADJUVANT / ADVANCED STAGE:
Radiation (EBRT + brachy)  █████████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  Standard post-surgical for high-risk
Chemotherapy (carbo/taxol) ████████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  Stage III–IV, aggressive histology
Hormone Therapy (progest.) ██████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  Low-grade, fertility-sparing cases
Targeted Therapy (lenvatinib)████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  Advanced/recurrent + pembrolizumab combo

IMMUNOTHERAPY (FDA-APPROVED FOR EC):
Pembrolizumab (Keytruda)   ████████████████████████████████░░░░░░░░  dMMR / MSI-H tumors; PD-L1+ tumors
Dostarlimab (Jemperli)     █████████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  dMMR recurrent/advanced EC

Source: NCI Endometrial Cancer Treatment PDQ (National Cancer Institute); Cancer Research Institute; Cleveland Clinic; ACS Cancer Facts & Figures 2026; PMC — Update Gynecologic Malignancies 2025 (June 2025); ClinicalTrials.gov

Surgery is where uterine cancer treatment almost always starts. For the vast majority of patients — regardless of stage at presentation — the primary procedure is a total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, meaning the uterus, cervix, fallopian tubes, and ovaries are all removed. Lymph node staging is performed at the same time, either through sentinel lymph node mapping or a full pelvic lymphadenectomy, to determine whether the cancer has spread beyond the uterus. In cases where the cervix is involved, a radical hysterectomy — which takes a wider margin of surrounding tissue — is preferred over a standard hysterectomy based on available single-institution data. For many early-stage patients, surgery alone is curative. The decision about what to add after surgery — radiation, chemotherapy, or both — depends on the stage, grade, histologic type, molecular markers, and patient health status.

Immunotherapy has changed the advanced and recurrent disease landscape more than any other development of the past five years. Two checkpoint inhibitors are now FDA-approved for uterine cancer: pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and dostarlimab (Jemperli), both targeting the PD-1 pathway. Both are approved specifically for patients whose tumors show mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR) — a molecular characteristic that predicts strong response to checkpoint blockade. For patients who are not dMMR, the combination of lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab is approved for advanced endometrial carcinoma that has progressed on prior systemic therapy, regardless of MMR status. This combination showed durable responses in the KEYNOTE-775 trial and is now standard of care in that setting. The KEYNOTE-B21 trial, which investigated adding pembrolizumab to adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation in high-risk early-stage patients, reported in 2025 that PFS in the intent-to-treat population did not show a significant difference — meaning pembrolizumab did not improve progression-free survival across the board post-surgery in that high-risk cohort. Overall survival data is still maturing. Active trials are now testing neo-adjuvant pembrolizumab before surgery in MMRd Grade 3 patients, asking whether immunotherapy given first can shrink or even eliminate tumors enough to reduce the surgical extent needed.

Uterine Cancer Risk Factors and Prevention in the US 2026

UTERINE CANCER MAJOR RISK FACTORS — RELATIVE CONTRIBUTION
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Obesity (excess estrogen)      ████████████████████████████████░░░░  ~50% of cases attributed (US/EU)
Unopposed estrogen use         █████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  Significantly elevated risk
Diabetes / metabolic syndrome  ████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  Elevated risk
Age (peak: 60s)                ████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  Strongest demographic factor
Lynch Syndrome (hereditary)    ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  ~2–5% of EC cases; ~40–60% lifetime risk
Tamoxifen use (breast CA tx)   ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  Doubles endometrial cancer risk
Nulliparity (never pregnant)   ██████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  Elevated risk
PCOS (chronic anovulation)     ██████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  Elevated risk in younger women

Source: National Cancer Institute (NCI); American Cancer Society Cancer Facts & Figures 2026; Cancer Research Institute; Cleveland Clinic; NCI SEER general epidemiology data

The risk factor picture for uterine cancer is probably cleaner and more modifiable than the public understands. About half of all cases in the US and Europe are attributable to obesity — a figure that makes uterine cancer one of the most obesity-linked cancers in existence. The mechanism is not mysterious: excess fat tissue produces estrogen independently of the ovaries, creating a sustained low-level hormonal environment that drives endometrial cell proliferation. When estrogen exposure is not offset by progesterone — as happens in obesity, PCOS, and chronic anovulation — the endometrium accumulates changes over time that progress toward cancer. This is the same pathway that makes unopposed estrogen therapy (estrogen without progesterone in postmenopausal women) a documented risk factor.

Lynch Syndrome stands apart from the modifiable risk factors as something every clinician and patient should screen for. Women with a Lynch Syndrome mutation — a mismatch repair gene defect — carry a 40–60% lifetime risk of developing endometrial cancer, compared to the roughly 3% lifetime risk in the general population. Lynch Syndrome is also why MMR status testing has become standard of care for newly diagnosed endometrial cancer patients: knowing a tumor is dMMR both identifies patients who may benefit from immunotherapy and flags family members who should be genetically tested. The POLE gene mutation (associated with an ultramutated tumor phenotype) is another molecular marker now guiding prognosis — POLE-mutated endometrial cancers tend to have excellent outcomes despite sometimes appearing high-grade on pathology. Molecular characterization has fundamentally changed how uterine cancer is staged and treated, moving the field from histology-only to a combined histomolecular classification system.

Disclaimer: This research report is compiled from publicly available sources. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is given as to the completeness or reliability of the information. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions, losses, or damages of any kind arising from the use of this report.

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