Hidden crisis in gynaecological cancers affecting women (2025)

A hidden crisis is affecting women diagnosed with gynaecological cancer as treatment options vary and survival rates remain some of the poorest.

Gynaecological cancers remain among the most lethal for women and include uterine (endometrial), ovarian, cervical, vaginal and vulvar cancers.

Yet these have been among the most underfunded cancer types, despite being one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in women.

Every day, 19 Australian women are diagnosed with a gynaecological cancer and more than six women lose their lives from the disease.

The cancers often silently progress and remain undetected until they reach advanced, incurable stages.

More than half of all gynaecological cancers are classified as rare, with limited research, treatment options and no early detection tests apart from cervical cancer.

Alex Neville, 56, is living with incurable endometrial adenocarcinoma and is a strong advocate for clinical trials and cancer research.

She first noticed changes to her period in 2019 which her GP thought was related to menopause.

It wasn't until further testing and a biopsy confirmed her cancer type which led to a hysterectomy and multiple rounds of radiation and chemotherapy.

"It feels like a bit of a lottery as to where your cancer pops up, and it shouldn't be that way," she told AAP.

"Perhaps if this cancer had been better funded and had further research we may have been in a position where we had better diagnostics and more options for how to treat it."

Ms Neville's access to treatment has also been compounded by difficulties due to living in regional Tasmania.

For Ali Crawford, it took multiple trips to doctors to find an eventual diagnoses of uterine cancer which led to a radical hysterectomy followed by chemotherapy.

Her experience has highlighted multiple pitfalls in cancer care including delays in diagnosis, limited access to molecular profiling and fragmented treatment pathways.

"Enough is enough - we are tired of the silence, the inaction, and the lack of investment in cancer research, taking the lives of thousands of women every year," she said.

"Every single person has come out of a uterus, it's time to honour that and take these diseases seriously."

Leading organisations, including Australia New Zealand Gynaecological Oncology Group, Ovarian Cancer Australia, the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation, and Omico have joined forces to call out the critical underinvestment in gynaecological cancer.

They have released the Gynaecological Cancer Transformation Initiative, a national research program to revolutionise the diagnosis, treatment and care pathway to improve survival rates and save lives.

The group is calling for a $100 million funding commitment from the federal government over four years, including for targeted research, to action this initiative.

"We cannot afford to wait any longer, for women diagnosed with a gynaecological cancer this is literally a life-or-death crisis," said the oncology group's chair Professor Clare Scott AM.

"The Gynaecological Cancer Transformation Initiative marks a turning point, one that will save lives and give hope to thousands of women and their families."

Australian Associated Press