What are gynecological cancers?

At Institut Curie, we take care of all cancer pathologies affecting the female genital tract: 

• endometrial cancer
• cervical cancer
• ovarian cancer
• cancers of the fallopian tubes, vulva, and vagina. 

These cancers mainly affect women after the age of 50 or even 60.

Endometrial cancers (more than 8,000 new cases per year*), cervical cancer (more than 3,000 cases each year), and ovarian cancer (more than 5,000 cases each year) are the primary types of gynecological cancers, comprising a total of more than 17,000 new cancer cases each year*.

Certain risk factors are common to endometrial and ovarian cancers, such as age, obesity or genetic predisposition. Lynch syndrome, for example, is a hereditary condition that increases the risk of developing colorectal, endometrial, ovarian, stomach, and pancreatic cancer. The mutation of the BRCA genes is also known as a predisposing factor for breast and ovarian cancers. In certain cases, you may be offered a consultation with geneticists.

Cervical cancer, on the other hand, is overwhelmingly linked to a genital infection by human papillomaviruses (HPV). This frequency justifies the indication of vaccination in young girls and boys and the establishment of an organized national screening.

Cancers of the vulva (less than 900 cases per year) and the vagina (less than 200) are rare. They represent less than 5% of female cancers and occur mainly in postmenopausal women, after 70 years of age. They are usually preceded by a precancerous phase, following a pre-existing skin disease called lichen sclerosus or an infection with a human papillomavirus (HPV). 
 

The Institute of Women’s Cancers

By placing women at the heart of research and innovation, the Institute of Women's Cancers is committed to lastingly reducing the incidence and mortality of these cancers, while fundamentally transforming the patient experience.

Co-founded by Institut Curie, PSL University, and Inserm, the Institute of Women's Cancers is a University Hospital Institute (IHU) and a recipient of the France 2030 excellence label.

The Institute was founded on a core conviction: that preventing, treating, and supporting patients with these cancers requires moving beyond a tumor-centered approach.

What sets it apart is a holistic, highly personalized model at the cutting edge of adaptive medicine — one that accounts for women's biological, clinical, psychological, and social trajectories throughout their disease and beyond.

Physicians, healthcare professionals, researchers, data scientists, and experts in humanities and social sciences — working hand in hand with patients themselves — are bringing their expertise together to address breast and gynecological cancers across the full continuum of care: prevention, diagnosis, treatment, follow-up, and long-term quality of life.

More information about the Institute of Women’s Cancers

Launch of the Institute of Women’s Cancers, the IHU of Institut Curie, PSL University and Inserm

*Source : Institut National du Cancer