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• Posted January 26, 2024

Cervical Cancer Rates Are on the Rise Among the Poor

Women in poorer areas of the United States have experienced a dramatic increase in advanced cervical cancer, a new study shows.

Late-stage cervical cancer cases and deaths have gone up in U.S. counties with an average household income of between $19,330 and $38,820, researchers report Jan. 25 in the International Journal of Cancer.

Cases of cervical cancer increased most among white women living in low-income counties, rising 4.4% annually since 2007. But the largest increase in cervical cancer deaths occurred in Black women in poorer counties, rising 2.9% annually since 2013.

By comparison, overall rates of cervical cancer have remained largely stable over the past decade, according to the American Cancer Society.

"These data add to a growing body of evidence indicating widening disparities driven by socioeconomic status,” said co-senior study author Jane Montealegre, an associate professor of behavioral science at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. “Cervical cancer is almost entirely preventable through vaccination against human papillomavirus [HPV], screening and early detection.”

The researchers found that in 2019, cervical cancer cases across all racial and ethnic groups were greater among women living in low-income counties, with the highest absolute number of cases observed in Hispanic women.

“The findings are quite concerning,” said lead author Trisha Amboree, a postdoctoral fellow in behavioral science at MD Anderson.

“Despite decades of improvement due to the widespread implementation of cervical cancer prevention programs in the U.S., our study shows women may be facing disruptions along the screening and treatment continuum that are leading to more distant-stage cancers and, potentially, more deaths,” Amboree added in an MD Anderson news release.

Thanks to screening tools like the Pap test, cervical cancer rates decreased by more than half between the mid-1970s and the mid-2000s, according to the American Cancer Society.

Rates have been stable overall since, but the ACS noted that cervical cancers have increased about 1.7% annually for women ages 30-44 between 2012 and 2019.

Conversely, cervical cancer cases have declined 11% each year for women ages 20 to 24, likely reflecting the first effects of cancer prevention from HPV vaccination, the ACS said.

The researchers relied on cancer surveillance data gathered by the federal government between 2000 and 2019.

More information

The American Cancer Society has more about cervical cancer trends.

SOURCE: University of Texas, news release, Jan. 25, 2024