Increasing incidence of endometrial carcinoma in Japan

Incidence of corpus cancer has been increasing in the Gynecology Clinic of the Cancer Institute Hospital, Tokyo, in recent years, and this tendency has become very marked since 1966. This tendency for increased incidence of corpus cancer has been observed among relatively young age groups. There was no evidence that the age of outpatients was getting higher in recent years or that the number of outpatients with higher risk age for corpus cancer was increasing. Increased incidence of corpus cancer could not be correlated to the improvement in diagnostic technique or to increase in the number of endometrial biopsy. Correlation between increased incidence of corpus cancer and socioeconomic factors must await further detailed examinations. Precancerous changes responsible for corpus cancer may have been on the increase in recent years.