Endometrial cancer awareness as a public health blind spot: a cross-sectional survey study.

BACKGROUND: Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecological cancer. With well-established risk factors and symptoms yet no early-detection screening test, patient-led symptom awareness is essential for early detection. With endometrial cancer rates rising, especially among younger populations, identifying gaps in public knowledge is essential for informing public health strategy. This study evaluates awareness of endometrial cancer symptoms and risk factors among healthy women to identify systemic disparities with global policy implications. METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey of Israeli women (n = 1046 participants) was conducted using social media-based recruitment. The questionnaire assessed awareness of endometrial cancer symptoms, risk factors, and intended care-seeking behaviors. Descriptive statistics summarized awareness patterns across demographic cohorts. RESULTS: Despite high education levels and recent gynecological consultation (> 50% within the past year), only 26.3% of participants reported any awareness of endometrial cancer symptoms. This contrasts sharply with awareness of cervical (98.5%) and ovarian (77.5%) cancers. Most participants (72.6%) failed to recognize abnormal vaginal bleeding as an endometrial cancer warning sign and were unaware of identifiable risk factors (90.0%). While 86% reported they would consult a gynecologist for irregular bleeding, only 1% of the total cohort was classified as “fully aware” of endometrial cancer. CONCLUSION: The profound deficit in endometrial cancer awareness within this highly educated cohort serves as a warning sign to global public health systems. These findings suggest an “awareness-access” paradox, where clinical access to health care does not equate to health literacy. In the absence of a standardized screening practice, these results from a high-resource population suggest a “high-water mark” indicator: if significant knowledge gaps persist here, they likely signal an even more severe, unmeasured crisis in less-advantaged populations. Policy interventions must rethink strategies to formalize symptom-based education within primary care as a standard of preventative care, to mitigate the rising global burden of endometrial cancer.