Higher incidence and mortality rates of cervical cancer in African-American women in Louisiana.

Abstract

e17522 Background: Cervical cancer [CC] incidence in the United States has decreased over the last thirty years in black and white Americans, however it is recognized that black women [BW] have higher incidence and mortality rates than white women [WW]. We evaluated race-specific incidence of CC, mortality rates of CC, and HPV vaccine usage rates in Louisiana [LA] during the last decade, the state with the second highest proportion of black Americans in the United States [US]. Methods: Data from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registries were analyzed for trends in incidence and mortality rate [MR] in BW and WW in LA and the US. SEER 13 and SEER 18 data were used and standardized to the 2000 US population to estimate annual age-adjusted incidence and mortality rates. Results: The incidence of CC in WW in LA was 8.2 per 100,000 from 2006 to 2009, and 7.9 per 100,000 in WW in US. The incidence in BW in LA was 13.3 per 100,000, as compared to the US at 9.7 per 100,000, a 36% higher incidence in BW. The MR in WW in LA and the US was 2.4 and 2.2 per 100,000. The MR for BW in LA was 5.8 per 100,000 and the US was 4.3 per 100,000, a 37% higher incidence in BW. WW in LA and the US showed a peak in incidence between the ages of 35 and 45 from 2006 to 2009. The incidence in BW in LA peaked at 37.1 per 100,000 at age 85 and the incidence in BW in the US peaked at 25.6 per 100,000 at age 85. HPV vaccination rates for LA females ages 13-15 in 2008 and 2009 were 16.1% and 35.4%. Conclusions: BW in LA were twice as likely to be diagnosed with CC than WW with a higher MR. Though the incidence rate of CC is decreasing in WW and BW in the US and in WW in LA, it is increasing in BW in LA and continues to trend up throughout life in BW compared to WW. The high incidence of CC in BW in LA highlights the need to improve utilization of the HPV vaccine. A screening and treatment program targeting CC was implemented within the last decade in the LA public hospital system with the goal of reducing CC incidence and mortality.