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\nThe uterus is part of the female reproductive system. The uterus is the hollow, pear-shaped organ in the pelvis, where a fetus grows. The cervix is at the lower, narrow end of the uterus, and leads to the vagina.
\n \nUterine sarcoma is a very rare kind of cancer that forms in the uterine muscles or in tissues that support the uterus. (Information about other types of sarcomas can be found in the PDQ summary on Soft Tissue Sarcoma Treatment.)
\nUterine sarcoma is different from endometrial cancer, a disease in which cancer forms in the tissue that lines the uterus. Carcinosarcoma is a subtype of endometrial cancer and is staged using endometrial cancer definitions. (For more information, seeEndometrial Cancer Treatment.)
\nUterine sarcomas include leiomyosarcomas, endometrial stromal sarcomas, and adenosarcomas.
\nAnything that increases your risk of getting a disease is called a risk factor. Having a risk factor does not mean that you will get cancer; not having risk factors doesn\u2019t mean that you will not get cancer. Talk with your doctor if you think you may be at risk. Risk factors for uterine sarcoma include the following:
\nAbnormal bleeding from the vagina and other signs and symptoms may be caused by uterine sarcoma or by other conditions. Check with your doctor if you have any of the following:
\nThe following tests and procedures may be used:
\nThe prognosis and treatment options depend on the following:
\n \nThe process used to find out if cancer has spread within the uterus or to other parts of the body is called staging. The information gathered from the staging process determines the stage of the disease. It is important to know the stage in order to plan treatment. The following procedures may be used in the staging process:
\nSurgery is used to diagnose, stage, and treat uterine sarcoma. During this surgery, the doctor removes as much of the cancer as possible. The following procedures may be used to diagnose, stage, and treat uterine sarcoma:
\nTreatment in addition to surgery may be given, as described in the Treatment Option Overview section of this summary.
\nWhen cancer spreads to another part of the body, it is called metastasis. Cancer cells break away from where they began (the primary tumor) and travel through the lymph system or blood.
\nThe metastatic tumor is the same type of cancer as the primary tumor. For example, if uterine sarcoma spreads to the lung, the cancer cells in the lung are actually uterine sarcoma cells. The disease is metastatic uterine sarcoma, not lung cancer.
\nCancer can spread through tissue, the lymph system, and the blood:
\nIn stage I, the tumor is found in the uterus only. Stage I is divided into stages IA and IB:
\nIn stage II, the tumor has spread beyond the uterus but has not spread beyond the pelvis. Stage II is divided into stages IIA and IIB:
\nIn stage III, the tumor has spread into tissues in the abdomen. Stage III is divided into stages IIIA, IIIB, and IIIC:
\nStage IV is divided into stages IVA and IVB:
\n \nIn stage I, the tumor is found in the uterus only. Stage I is divided into stages IA, IB, and IC:
\nIn stage II, the tumor has spread outside the uterus into the pelvis. Stage II is divided into stages IIA and IIB:
\nIn stage III, the tumor has spread into tissues in the abdomen. Stage III is divided into stages IIIA, IIIB, and IIIC:
\nStage IV is divided into stages IVA and IVB:
\n \nThe cancer may come back in the uterus, the pelvis, or in other parts of the body.
\nDifferent types of treatments are available for patients with uterine sarcoma. Some treatments are standard (the currently used treatment), and some are being tested in clinical trials. A treatment clinical trial is a research study meant to help improve current treatments or obtain information on new treatments for patients with cancer. When clinical trials show that a new treatment is better than the standard treatment, the new treatment may become the standard treatment. Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.
\nSurgery is the most common treatment for uterine sarcoma, as described in the Stages of Uterine Sarcoma section of this summary.
\nAfter the doctor removes all the cancer that can be seen at the time of the surgery, some patients may be given chemotherapy or radiation therapy after surgery to kill any cancer cells that are left. Treatment given after the surgery, to lower the risk that the cancer will come back, is called adjuvant therapy.
\nRadiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. There are two types of radiation therapy:
\nThe way the radiation therapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated. External and internal radiation therapy are used to treat uterine sarcoma, and may also be used as palliative therapy to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life.
\nChemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. When chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, the drugs enter the bloodstream and can reach cancer cells throughout the body (systemic chemotherapy).
\nHormone therapy is a cancer treatment that removes hormones or blocks their action and stops cancer cells from growing. Hormones are substances produced by glands in the body and circulated in the bloodstream. Some hormones can cause certain cancers to grow. If tests show the cancer cells have places where hormones can attach (receptors), drugs, surgery, or radiation therapy is used to reduce the production of hormones or block them from working.
\nInformation about clinical trials is available from the NCI website.
\nFor information about side effects caused by treatment for cancer, visit our Side Effects page.
\nFor some patients, taking part in a clinical trial may be the best treatment choice. Clinical trials are part of the cancer research process. Clinical trials are done to find out if new cancer treatments are safe and effective or better than the standard treatment.
\nMany of today's standard treatments for cancer are based on earlier clinical trials. Patients who take part in a clinical trial may receive the standard treatment or be among the first to receive a new treatment.
\nPatients who take part in clinical trials also help improve the way cancer will be treated in the future. Even when clinical trials do not lead to effective new treatments, they often answer important questions and help move research forward.
\nSome clinical trials only include patients who have not yet received treatment. Other trials test treatments for patients whose cancer has not gotten better. There are also clinical trials that test new ways to stop cancer from recurring (coming back) or reduce the side effects of cancer treatment.
\nClinical trials are taking place in many parts of the country. Information about clinical trials supported by NCI can be found on NCI\u2019s clinical trials search webpage. Clinical trials supported by other organizations can be found on the ClinicalTrials.gov website.
\nAs you go through treatment, you will have follow-up tests or checkups. Some tests that were done to diagnose or stage the cancer may be repeated to see how well the treatment is working. Decisions about whether to continue, change, or stop treatment may be based on the results of these tests. These tests are sometimes called follow-up tests or check-ups.
\nSome of the tests will continue to be done from time to time after treatment has ended. The results of these tests can show if your condition has changed or if the cancer has recurred (come back).
\nFor information about the treatments listed below, see the Treatment Option Overview section.
\nTreatment of stage I leiomyosarcoma of the uterus, stage I endometrial stromal sarcoma, and stage I adenosarcoma of the uterus may include the following:
\nUse our clinical trial search to find NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are accepting patients. You can search for trials based on the type of cancer, the age of the patient, and where the trials are being done. General information about clinical trials is also available.
\nFor information about the treatments listed below, see the Treatment Option Overview section.
\nTreatment of stage II leiomyosarcoma of the uterus, stage II endometrial stromal sarcoma, and stage II adenosarcoma of the uterus may include the following:
\nUse our clinical trial search to find NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are accepting patients. You can search for trials based on the type of cancer, the age of the patient, and where the trials are being done. General information about clinical trials is also available.
\nFor information about the treatments listed below, see the Treatment Option Overview section.
\nTreatment of stage III leiomyosarcoma of the uterus, stage III endometrial stromal sarcoma, and stage III adenosarcoma of the uterus may include the following:
\nUse our clinical trial search to find NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are accepting patients. You can search for trials based on the type of cancer, the age of the patient, and where the trials are being done. General information about clinical trials is also available.
\nThere is no standard treatment for patients with stage IV leiomyosarcoma of the uterus, stage IV endometrial stromal sarcoma, or stage IV adenosarcoma of the uterus. Treatment may include a clinical trial using chemotherapy.
\nUse our clinical trial search to find NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are accepting patients. You can search for trials based on the type of cancer, the age of the patient, and where the trials are being done. General information about clinical trials is also available.
\nFor information about the treatments listed below, see the Treatment Option Overview section.
\nThere is no standard treatment for recurrent uterine sarcoma. Treatment may include a clinical trial using chemotherapy.
\nFor patients with recurrent carcinosarcoma (a certain type of tumor), treatment may include the following:
\nUse our clinical trial search to find NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are accepting patients. You can search for trials based on the type of cancer, the age of the patient, and where the trials are being done. General information about clinical trials is also available.
\nFor more information from the National Cancer Institute about uterine sarcoma, see the Uterine Cancer Home Page.
\nFor general cancer information and other resources from the National Cancer Institute, visit:
\n \nPhysician Data Query (PDQ) is the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) comprehensive cancer information database. The PDQ database contains summaries of the latest published information on cancer prevention, detection, genetics, treatment, supportive care, and complementary and alternative medicine. Most summaries come in two versions. The health professional versions have detailed information written in technical language. The patient versions are written in easy-to-understand, nontechnical language. Both versions have cancer information that is accurate and up to date and most versions are also available in Spanish.
\nPDQ is a service of the NCI. The NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIH is the federal government\u2019s center of biomedical research. The PDQ summaries are based on an independent review of the medical literature. They are not policy statements of the NCI or the NIH.
\nThis PDQ cancer information summary has current information about the treatment of uterine sarcoma. It is meant to inform and help patients, families, and caregivers. It does not give formal guidelines or recommendations for making decisions about health care.
\nEditorial Boards write the PDQ cancer information summaries and keep them up to date. These Boards are made up of experts in cancer treatment and other specialties related to cancer. The summaries are reviewed regularly and changes are made when there is new information. The date on each summary (\"Updated\") is the date of the most recent change.
\nThe information in this patient summary was taken from the health professional version, which is reviewed regularly and updated as needed, by the PDQ Adult Treatment Editorial Board.
\nA clinical trial is a study to answer a scientific question, such as whether one treatment is better than another. Trials are based on past studies and what has been learned in the laboratory. Each trial answers certain scientific questions in order to find new and better ways to help cancer patients. During treatment clinical trials, information is collected about the effects of a new treatment and how well it works. If a clinical trial shows that a new treatment is better than one currently being used, the new treatment may become \"standard.\" Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.
\nClinical trials can be found online at NCI's website. For more information, call the Cancer Information Service (CIS), NCI's contact center, at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).
\nPDQ is a registered trademark. The content of PDQ documents can be used freely as text. It cannot be identified as an NCI PDQ cancer information summary unless the whole summary is shown and it is updated regularly. However, a user would be allowed to write a sentence such as \u201cNCI\u2019s PDQ cancer information summary about breast cancer prevention states the risks in the following way: [include excerpt from the summary].\u201d
\nThe best way to cite this PDQ summary is:
\nPDQ\u00ae Adult Treatment Editorial Board. PDQ Uterine Sarcoma Treatment. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute. Updated <MM/DD/YYYY>. Available at: https://www.cancer.gov/types/uterine/patient/uterine-sarcoma-treatment-pdq. Accessed <MM/DD/YYYY>. [PMID: 26389379]
\nImages in this summary are used with permission of the author(s), artist, and/or publisher for use in the PDQ summaries only. If you want to use an image from a PDQ summary and you are not using the whole summary, you must get permission from the owner. It cannot be given by the National Cancer Institute. Information about using the images in this summary, along with many other images related to cancer can be found in Visuals Online. Visuals Online is a collection of more than 3,000 scientific images.
\nThe information in these summaries should not be used to make decisions about insurance reimbursement. More information on insurance coverage is available on Cancer.gov on the Managing Cancer Care page.
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\nUpdated:
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