Advanced-stage cervical cancer is on the rise in white and black women in the United States

CNN
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Advanced cervical cancer is on the rise among white and black women in the United States, according to new reports. study In the International Journal of Gynecologic Cancer.

“This particular study was born out of a desire to delve deeper into the factors behind cervical cancer. Dr. Alex Francour, a fourth-year resident in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and one of the study authors. “When we looked more closely at cervical cancer, we made these paradoxical findings. When we look at early stage cervical cancer, we see a decline in the United States, but when we look at advanced stages, we see a decline. Or for metastatic cervical cancer, we’re actually seeing the opposite trend, with rates increasing in the United States.”

Franccourt and other researchers looked at data on 29,715 women from 2001 to 2018. The steepest increase was in white women at her rate of 1.69%, with the highest rate of increase, especially in the South, in white women from her 40s to her 44s. 4.5% annually. And the proportion of black women increased by 0.67% year-on-year.

The overall prevalence of this disease was higher among black women. It was 0.92 per million.

“I think the biggest point is that we’re seeing this increase, and there are several things,” Franccourt said. Similarly, metastatic cervical cancer disproportionately affects minority populations, black and Hispanic women. We see the highest rate of increase in cervical cancer.”

American Cancer Society Recommendation Cervical cancer screening should begin at age 25 and be screened every 5 years until age 65.

“Cervical cancer is incredibly preventable with proper screening and vaccination against the HPV virus,” said Franccourt. “And to me, these findings are very surprising because with the expansion of the Affordable Care Act and more and more women with health insurance, more people are getting tested. Because I expected to see the opposite result of the survey that I could receive it.”

Looking at age-related trends, the largest and fastest increase in metastatic cervical cancer was found in the 30- to 34-year-old age group, people in this group are generally healthy and withhold health insurance. It’s possible, she added, if they don’t get it through their employer.

In this study, Francouer et al. noted that ‘known’ disparities in screening and access to health care are associated with higher rates of advanced cervical cancer among black and Hispanic women. However, findings show that a white woman is more likely than other racial or ethnic groups to report not having been screened for cervical cancer in her five years or longer, and that her teens who are white Her HPV vaccination coverage was shown to be the lowest.

“This shows how important it is for everyone to have access to regular health care and access to recommended screening tests, and that Pap screening is so important, even for young, healthy women. , highlighting that it can save lives.

She also emphasized that the data used in the study dated to 2018, before the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I suspect these trends could even get worse as access to health care decreased during the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said. “There are many studies that have looked at different cancers and how people are doing presentations afterward in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Recommendation Routine HPV vaccination begins at age 11 or 12, but can start as early as age 9. Vaccination is recommended for everyone up to the age of 26 if they have not been sufficiently vaccinated at an early age.

“Today we know that cervical cancer can be essentially eliminated through primary prevention through vaccination and secondary prevention through Pap- or HPV-based testing. We have the tools to eliminate cervical cancer.” Dr. Mark EinsteinProfessor and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health at Rutgers New Jersey School of Medicine. “But what this data shows is that if we don’t follow these screening guidelines, or if people aren’t screened enough, or if people aren’t vaccinated, how many of these windows are there?” It’s that you’re going to actually miss out on what…opportunities to pick up these cancers.”

Einstein stressed the importance of vaccination, screening and screening, especially if girls qualified.

To avoid missing opportunities, Einstein said, “Screening and effective management of cervical cancer is something we need to continue to pursue very aggressively.”

Dr. Arif KamalThe American Cancer Society’s Chief Patient Officer, Ph.D., also emphasized the importance of these preventive techniques.

“There aren’t many stage 4 cancers that are rising in prevalence, especially cancers that have an inherently medical preventive component rather than a lifestyle component. It has a standardized and regularly deployed screening,” he said.

Kamal pointed to colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and lung cancer. These are all examples of cancers that were routinely screened early and did not show elevated levels of Stage 4 prevalence.

“I think this really highlights two parts,” he said. “HPV vaccination coverage is not yet at the level we would like,” he said. “Second, significant barriers to access to special levels of care remain.”

Although cervical cancer is overall less common, it requires expertise that is common in large cancer centers and urban areas, and can result in high out-of-pocket costs, reducing the cost of these care. Barriers can cause disparities, Kamal said. Expanding.

“There are so many factors in this, in one population it is due to lack of HPV vaccination, in another it is chemotherapy resistance, lack of access to professional treatment and possibly biological It’s because of change,” Kamal said. “What’s in Cancer here is all the different types of disparities you can think of, and sort of he’s wrapped up in one space.”