Can Uterine Sarcoma Be Prevented?
Most cases of uterine sarcoma cannot be prevented.
Pelvic radiation
Although pelvic radiation increases the risk of developing a uterine sarcoma, the benefit of pelvic radiation in treating other cancers far outweighs the risk of developing a rare cancer such as uterine sarcoma many years later.
Tamoxifen
The risk of developing uterine sarcomas while taking tamoxifen is small and there are not specific things you can do to prevent a uterine sarcoma if you're taking it. But doctors will most likely watch you closely with regular pelvic exams and ask you to get medical care as soon as possible if you start to bleed abnormally from the uterus.
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The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team
Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as editors and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.
Boggess JF, Kilgore JE, and Tran AQ. Ch. 85 – Uterine Cancer. In: Niederhuber JE, Armitage JO, Doroshow JH, Kastan MB, Tepper JE, eds. Abeloff’s Clinical Oncology. 6th ed. Philadelphia, Pa. Elsevier; 2020.
Memarzadeh S and Berek JS. Uterine sarcoma: Classification, epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and diagnosis. In: Chakrabarti A, ed. UpToDate. Waltham, Mass.: UpToDate, 2021. https://www.uptodate.com. Accessed June 2, 2022.
National Cancer Institute. Uterine Sarcoma Treatment (PDQ)–Health Professional Version. Feb 10, 2022. Accessed at https://www.cancer.gov/types/uterine/hp/uterine-sarcoma-treatment-pdq
on June 2, 2022.
Last Revised: September 20, 2022
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