Skip to main content
Home
  • Affected by Cancer
  • Healthy Living
  • Clinical Best Practice
  • Research & Data
  • Publications & Resources
  • About Us
  • Home
  • Affected by Cancer
    • What is cancer
    • Cancer A-Z
    • Cancer statistics
    • Interactive body map
    • Check your cancer risk online
    • Treatment
    • Living with cancer
    • Life after cancer
    • For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
    • Cancer support organisations
    • Australian cancer trials
    • Jeannie Ferris Award
    • COVID-19 and cancer
    • Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD)
    • Bladder cancer
    • Bowel cancer
    • Brain cancer
    • Breast cancer
    • Breast cancer in men
    • Breast cancer in young women
    • Cervical cancer
    • Children's Cancer
    • Endometrial cancer
    • Fallopian cancer
    • Gestational trophoblastic disease
    • Gynaecological cancers
    • Head and neck cancer
    • Kidney cancer
    • Leukaemia
    • Liver cancer
    • Lung cancer
    • Lymphoma
    • Melanoma of the skin
    • Mesothelioma cancer
    • Myeloma
    • Neuroendocrine tumours
    • Oesophageal cancer
    • Ovarian cancer
    • Pancreatic cancer
    • Prostate cancer
    • Sarcoma
    • Stomach cancer
    • Testicular cancer
    • Thyroid cancer
    • Unknown primary
    • Uterine sarcoma
    • Vaginal cancer
    • Vulval cancer
  • Healthy Living
    • Lifestyle & risk reduction
    • Screening
  • Clinical Best Practice
    • Cancer types
    • Psychosocial care
    • Multidisciplinary care
    • Cancer learning
    • Australian cancer trials
    • Consumer engagement
    • Shared follow-up care
  • Research & Data
    • Research
    • Grants and funding
    • Support for clinical trials
    • Cancer data
  • Publications & Resources
    • Cancer Australia publications
    • Position statements
    • Clinical Practice Guidelines
    • Cancer Australia websites
    • Cancer risk online tools
    • Other tools and resources
    • Podcasts
    • Subscribe to our eNewsletter
    • Glossary
  • About Us
    • Strategic Plan 2014-2019
    • Organisational structure
    • Accountability and reporting
    • Position Statements
    • Who we work with
    • Lung Cancer Screening enquiry
    • National Pancreatic Cancer Roadmap
    • News
    • Media
    • Campaigns & events
    • Information publication scheme
    • Reconciliation action plan
    • Employment opportunities
    • Contact us

Endometrial cancer

endometrial-mm affected-cancer/cancer-types/endometrial-cancer/what-endometrial-cancer
    • Home
    • Types
    • Statistics
    • Risk factors
      • What you can do
      • Personal
        • Age
      • Lifestyle
        • Acrylamide in the diet
        • Alcohol
        • Coffee, green tea and black tea
        • Fat in the diet
        • Glycaemic load
        • Overweight and obesity
        • Passive smoking
        • Physical activity
        • Sedentary behaviour
        • Smoking
        • Weight loss
      • Reproductive
        • Age at menopause
        • Age when periods started
        • Breastfeeding
        • Having children
      • Medical history and medications
        • Aspirin and related medicines
        • Diabetes
        • Endometrial hyperplasia and polyps
        • Endometriosis
        • High blood pressure
        • Hormonal treatment for infertility
        • Intrauterine device (IUD) contraception
        • Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) (also known as hormone replacement therapy)
        • Metformin
        • Oral Bisphosphonates
        • Oral contraceptive pill
        • Paracetamol
        • Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
        • Selective oestrogen receptor modulators
        • Statins
        • Stress
      • Family history and genetics
        • Mismatch repair gene mutations (Lynch syndrome)
        • PTEN gene mutation (Cowden syndrome)
        • Family history of endometrial cancer or colorectal cancer
      • Understanding risk
      • Lynch syndrome
    • Symptoms
    • Diagnosis
    • Treatment
    • Finding support
    • Clinical trials
    • Health professionals
    • Home
    • Types
    • Statistics
    • Risk factors
      • What you can do
      • Personal
        • Age
      • Lifestyle
        • Acrylamide in the diet
        • Alcohol
        • Coffee, green tea and black tea
        • Fat in the diet
        • Glycaemic load
        • Overweight and obesity
        • Passive smoking
        • Physical activity
        • Sedentary behaviour
        • Smoking
        • Weight loss
      • Reproductive
        • Age at menopause
        • Age when periods started
        • Breastfeeding
        • Having children
      • Medical history and medications
        • Aspirin and related medicines
        • Diabetes
        • Endometrial hyperplasia and polyps
        • Endometriosis
        • High blood pressure
        • Hormonal treatment for infertility
        • Intrauterine device (IUD) contraception
        • Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) (also known as hormone replacement therapy)
        • Metformin
        • Oral Bisphosphonates
        • Oral contraceptive pill
        • Paracetamol
        • Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
        • Selective oestrogen receptor modulators
        • Statins
        • Stress
      • Family history and genetics
        • Mismatch repair gene mutations (Lynch syndrome)
        • PTEN gene mutation (Cowden syndrome)
        • Family history of endometrial cancer or colorectal cancer
      • Understanding risk
      • Lynch syndrome
    • Symptoms
    • Diagnosis
    • Treatment
    • Finding support
    • Clinical trials
    • Health professionals
  1. Home
  2. Risk factors
  3. Family history and genetics
  4. Family history of endometrial cancer or colorectal cancer
  • What you can do
  • Personal
  • Lifestyle
  • Reproductive
  • Medical history and medications
  • Family history and genetics
    • Mismatch repair gene mutations (Lynch syndrome)
    • PTEN gene mutation (Cowden syndrome)
    • Family history of endometrial cancer or colorectal cancer
  • Understanding risk
  • Lynch syndrome

Family history of endometrial cancer or colorectal cancer

  • Printer-friendly version
  • A|A
Convincing: There is compelling and consistent evidence that the factor increases or decreases the risk of endometrial cancer. Increases risk

There is convincing evidence that a family history of endometrial cancer is associated with an increased risk of endometrial cancer. A family history of colorectal cancer and Lynch syndrome  is also associated with an increased risk of endometrial cancer.

Studies have looked at the risk of endometrial cancer in women who have a first degree relative (mother, sister, daughter) who has (or had) endometrial cancer. Around 3 in 100 women (3.1%) who have an affected first degree relative will develop endometrial cancer compared with just under 2 in 100 women (1.8%) who do not have an affected first degree relative.

The risk of endometrial cancer is also slightly higher (about 1.2 times higher) for women who have a first degree relative (mother, father, sister, brother, daughter, son) who has (or had) colorectal cancer compared with women without a family history of colorectal cancer.  This increase in risk is only seen if the family also has Lynch syndrome.

Current evidence suggests that only a small number of cases of endometrial cancer are due to family history. A family history may be due to genetic changes that lead to a higher likelihood of developing endometrial cancer. In addition, family members often have similar environments and lifestyles as each other. These shared backgrounds could also contribute to the increased endometrial cancer risk in women with a family history of endometrial cancer.

Further information can be found at:

  • Cancer Australia information on Lynch syndrome.
 
  • Last Updated
  • Relevant Links
updated: 20 October 2020 - 3:32pm
Cancer Council
National Cancer Institute
American Cancer Society

Related information

What is cancer?
What is cancer?

Cancer is a disease of the cells, which are the body’s basic building blocks.

Treatment and side effects
Treatment and side effects

The treatment that your doctors recommend will depend on the type of cancer you have, how advanced it is, and other personal factors.

Living with cancer
Living with cancer

A diagnosis of cancer marks the beginning of a journey full of emotional, psychological, physical and practical challenges.

Life after cancer
Life after cancer

While looking forward to finishing their cancer treatment and getting on with life, for some people, the end of treatment can also be a confusing or worrying time.

A-Z List of Cancer Types

Information on more than 70 types of cancer

  • Bladder cancer
  • Bowel cancer
  • Brain cancer
  • Breast cancer
  • Breast cancer in men
  • Breast cancer in young women
  • Cervical cancer
  • Children's Cancer
  • Endometrial cancer
  • Fallopian cancer
  • Gestational trophoblastic disease
  • Gynaecological cancers
  • Head and neck cancer
  • Kidney cancer
  • Leukaemia
  • Liver cancer
  • Lung cancer
  • Lymphoma
  • Melanoma of the skin
  • Mesothelioma cancer
  • Myeloma
  • Neuroendocrine tumours
  • Oesophageal cancer
  • Ovarian cancer
  • Pancreatic cancer
  • Prostate cancer
  • Sarcoma
  • Stomach cancer
  • Testicular cancer
  • Thyroid cancer
  • Unknown primary
  • Uterine sarcoma
  • Vaginal cancer
  • Vulval cancer

About Cancer Australia

Cancer Australia was established by the Australian Government in 2006 to benefit all Australians affected by cancer, and their families and carers. Cancer Australia aims to reduce the impact of cancer, address disparities and improve outcomes for people affected by cancer by leading and coordinating national, evidence-based interventions across the continuum of care.

If you would like an interpreter to help you understand any information on this website, please call TIS National on 131 450 and ask them to call Cancer Australia on 02 9357 9400. Our business hours are 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Freecall 1800 624 973
+61 2 9357 9400

Locked Bag 3, Strawberry Hills
NSW 2012

Navigation

  • Affected by Cancer
  • Healthy Living
  • Clinical Best Practice
  • Research & Data
  • Publications & Resources
  • About Us

Contact us

* Denotes mandatory fields
 

By submitting this form, you accept the Cancer Australia privacy policy.

  • Contact Us
  • Copyright
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy policy
  • Sitemap
Copyright © 2021 - Cancer Australia