URMC / Obstetrics & Gynecology / Gynecologic Oncology / Cancers We Treat

Cancers We Treat

Gynecological cancer is cancer that afflicts a woman’s reproductive organs. There are many forms of gynecological cancer, but the most common include:

Cervical Cancer

If abnormal cells on the surface of the cervix spread deeper into the cervix, or to other tissues or organs, the disease is then called cervical cancer, or invasive cervical cancer. Cervical cancer occurs most often in women over the age of 40. It is different from cancer that begins in other parts of the uterus and requires different treatment.

Vaginal or Vulvar Cancer

Cancer of the vagina, a rare kind of cancer in women, is a disease in which malignant cells are found in the tissues of the vagina. Vulvar cancer is a malignancy that can occur on any part of the external organs, but most often affects the labia majora or labia minora.

Uterine or Endometrial Cancer

Cancers that occur in each part of the uterus have their own names, such as cervical cancer or endometrial cancer, but are sometimes broadly defined as uterine cancer because the structure is part of the uterus. Cancer of the uterus spreads through the bloodstream or lymphatic system and is the most common cancer of the female reproductive tract. Cancer of the endometrium is a disease in which malignant (cancerous) cells are found in the endometrium. Endometrioid cancer is a specific type of endometrial cancer.

Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer is a disease in which malignant cells are found in an ovary. There are three types of ovarian tumors, named for the tissue in which they are found:

Epithelial cell - cells that cover the surface of the ovary. Most of these tumors are benign (non-cancerous). However, epithelial ovarian cancer accounts for 85 percent to 90 percent of ovarian cancer cases.
Germ cell - cells that form the eggs in the ovary.
Stromal cell - cells that form the ovary and produce female hormones.