A new study conducted by UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers shows an alarming number of California women 65 and older are facing late-stage cervical cancer diagnoses and dying from the disease. This is despite guidelines that recommend most women stop screening for cervical cancer at this age.
“Our findings highlight the need to better understand how current screening guidelines might be failing women 65 and over,” the study’s lead author, UC Davis senior statistician Julianne Cooley, said. “We need to focus on determining the past screening history of older women as well as lapses in follow-up care. We must utilize non-invasive testing approaches for women nearing age 65 or those who need to catch up on their cervical cancer screenings.”
The findings from the study, published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention on January 9, 2023, showed nearly one in five new cervical cancers diagnosed from 2009-2018 were in women 65 and older. More of these women (71%) presented with late-stage disease than younger women (48%), with the number of late-stage diagnoses increasing up to age 79. Late-stage five-year relative survival was lower for women 65 and over (23.2%-36.8%) compared to patients under 65 (41.5%-51.5%). Women 80 years and older had the lowest survival of all age groups.
“Our study found worsening five-year relative survival from cervical cancer with each increasing age category for both early and late-stage diagnoses,” said co-author Theresa Keegan, a professor in the UC Davis Division of Hematology and Oncology.
California Cancer Registry provided critical data
The study utilized a large set of population-based data from the California Cancer Registry. This state-mandated cancer surveillance system has collected cancer incidence and patient demographic, diagnostic, and treatment information since 1988. The data was used to identify all women 21 years and older who were diagnosed with a first primary cervical cancer in California from 2009-2018, the 10 most recent years that complete data was available.
Among women 65 and older, those who had comorbidities or were older were more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage disease.
“Interestingly, prior studies of younger women have found increased late-stage cervical cancer diagnoses among young Hispanic/Latina and Black women,” Cooley said. “Our study did not observe these associations and instead found that older Hispanic/Latina women were less likely than non-Hispanic white women to be diagnosed late-stage.”