Cervical Cancer Mortality Higher Than Previously Thought

A recent study found that cervical cancer mortality was higher than previously thought after adjusting for the prevalence of hysterectomies, and that the mortality rate was highest for older black women.

Researchers used the National Center for Health Statistics county mortality data from 2000-2012 to estimate cervical cancer related deaths, and used the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey to remove those not at risk for cervical cancer due to hysterectomies. In addition, age-specific and age-standardized mortality rates were calculated, and trends were analyzed using Joinpoint regression.
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After correcting for hysterectomies, their calculations showed that both white and black women had higher rates of cervical cancer related mortality.

The corrected rate for black women was 10.1 per 100,000, whereas the uncorrected rate was 5.7 per 100,000.

The highest corrected rate was for Black women aged 85 years or older, which was 37.2 per 100,000.

For white women, the corrected rate was 4.7 per 100,000, whereas the uncorrected rate was 3.2 per 100,000.

“A trend analysis of corrected rates demonstrated that white women's rates decreased at 0.8% per year, whereas the annual decrease for black women was 3.6% (P < .05),” the researchers stated.

The study demonstrated that cervical cancer related mortality was high once corrected for hysterectomy prevalence, and that the uncorrected cancer mortality rate underestimated the morality risk for black women by 44%.

“The highest rates are seen in the oldest black women, and public health efforts should focus on appropriate screening and adequate treatment in this population,” the researchers concluded.

—Melissa Weiss

Reference:

Beavis AL, Gravitt PE, and Rositch AF. Hysterectomy-corrected cervical cancer mortality rates reveal a larger racial disparity in the United States [published online January 23,2017]. Cancer. doi:10.1002/cncr.30507.