The uterus is a pear-shaped organ located in a woman's pelvis, its core is where a fetus develops, and for Black women the risk of cancer in that organ will greatly increase by 2050, according to a study published by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) projects, reports ABC News.

Of the cancers that plague us all, uterine cancer is one of the few cancers where the mortality rate is increasing. “Between 2010 and 2020, the number of uterine cancers diagnosed in the United States increased by more than 50%, from approximately 43,000 to over 65,000 cases,” according to Columbia University researchers.

“Currently, deaths from uterine cancer are about twice as high in Black women compared with white women,” the researchers reported.

The next statistic, from that study is just as bleak, reportedly from the years “2018 to 2050, we expect uterine cancer cases to rise by over 50% in Black women versus about 29% in white women.” 

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The disproportionate number of instances of uterine cancer in Black women has been  attributed to several factors.

“Black women often face delays in diagnosis and are more likely to be diagnosed at later stages, when the cancer is more difficult to treat,” says Jason D. Wright, the study’s first author—a professor of Gynecologic Oncology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. “Black women are also more likely to have aggressive types of uterine cancer.”  

Further, some research has linked hair relaxers or perms to  uterine cancer. In the U.S., about 95% of Black women under age 45 have used chemical hair relaxers at least once in their lives, according to ABC News.