Cancer of the body of the uterus is a rare disease in comparison with cancer of the cervix. The older statistics--those of Schroeder--appear to show that the disease begins in the body of the uterus in about 2 per cent. of all cases of cancer of this organ. This percentage, however, is probably too small. Cancer of the body of the uterus is by no means an infrequent disease; it is a disease for which the physician should always be on the watch. [Illustration: FIG. 125.--Diffuse cancer of the endometrium.] Cancer of the body of the uterus originates in the epithelial structures of the endometrium. It may first appear on the surface of the endometrium or deeply in the utricular glands. The gross appearance of the disease varies as does cancer of the cervix or of any other part of the body. Cancer of the uterus may begin upon the surface of the endometrium as a superficial ulceration, as a uniform swelling of the mucous membrane, as a polypoid or papillary projection, or as a large cauliflower-like mass projecting into the uterine cavity. When the disease begins in the utricular glands, it may form nodules throughout the body of the uterus. These nodules are of various sizes, from that of a pea to that of a hen’s egg. They grow rapidly. They may be submucous and project into the uterine cavity, or they may project beneath the peritoneal covering, giving the uterus an irregular nodular appearance (Fig. 126). [Illustration: FIG. 126.--Nodular form of cancer of the body of the uterus.] In the later stages of the disease the whole body of the uterus becomes infiltrated. The endometrium is destroyed. The cancerous masses ulcerate and break down. The peritoneal covering is for a certain time a barrier to the extension of the disease. In many cases the whole of the body of the uterus may be infiltrated with cancer, and yet the peritoneum will remain intact. The accompanying illustration (Fig. 127) shows this: the infiltration extends to, but does not involve, the peritoneum. [Illustration: FIG. 127.--Cancer of the body of the uterus: a large single cancerous nodule (_c_) in the anterior wall has been divided.] Later, however, the peritoneum, the Fallopian tubes, and the ovaries become involved. Intestinal adhesions are formed, and the disease may extend throughout the abdominal cavity. The cervix and the vagina may be attacked by extension from above, though, on the other hand, the disease may progress sufficiently to destroy life, and yet the cervix may remain unaffected. Metastasis may take place by way of the lymphatics. Extension by metastasis, however, is unusual. Cancer of the body of the uterus occurs at a somewhat later age than cancer of the cervix. The average age is between fifty and sixty. The disease attacks both the parous and nulliparous woman, the latter perhaps more often than the former.