Current status of gynecologic cancer in Japan

To make an overview of the current status of gynecologic cancer in Japan, we reviewed the recent incidence of cervical, endometrial, and ovarian cancer in Japanese women. The incidence of all three cancers has increased, but trends differ respectively. In age specific cancer site distribution data, the uterus and ovary are leading sites of high incidence among Japanese women younger than 40 years of age. Therefore, fertility sparing cancer treatment has received much attention. Several multicenter clinical trials have been done by Japanese groups, and some excellent evidence has been collected for endometrial and ovarian cancer. A promising international collaboration trial for ovarian clear cell carcinoma is also underway at the present time.