Impact of socioeconomic status and degree of ethnic isolation on cervical cancer incidence among Hispanics and Asians in California.

Abstract

5605 Background: The incidence of cervical cancer in the United States has declined since the introduction of the pap smear. However, differences exist based on ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES).This study aimed to evaluate the impact of nativity, neighborhood SES and enclave (degree of ethnic isolation) on the incidence of cervical cancer in California. Methods: Using data from the California Cancer Registry, comprising three of the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program registries, information on all primary invasive cervical cancer diagnosed in California from January 1, 1990, through December 31, 2004 was obtained. We analyzed the influence of enclave, SES, and nativity on cervical cancer incidence. Results: Among the 22,189 invasive cervical cancer cases diagnosed between 1990 and 2004, 50% were non-Hispanic white (NHW), 39% Hispanic and 11% Asian women. Seventy percent (70%) of the invasive cervical cancer cases were squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), 19% were adenocarcinoma and 11% other histologies. Approximately half (51%) of patients presented with localized disease, 33% regional disease, 10% distant disease and 6% unknown. By ethnic group, US born women showed lower rates of SCC compared to foreign-born women. Seventy-six percent (76%) of invasive cervical cases were observed in high enclave neighborhoods, and seventy percent (70%) were noted in low SES neighborhoods. Hispanics living in low SES and high enclave had 12.7 times (95% CI; 11.2-14.3) higher rate of cervical cancer than those living in high SES, low enclave neighborhoods. For Asian women incidence rates were 6 times (95% CI; 4.9-7.5) higher in the low SES, high enclave neighborhoods compared to those living in high SES, low enclave neighborhoods. Conclusions: More efforts should be done to reach out to and increase pap smear screening for women living in high enclave neighborhoods to help decrease the incidence of invasive cervical cancer cases in these groups of women.