Time trends assessment of cervical cancer characteristics in Guangzhou, 2010–2021: Is the age at diagnosis increasing over time?

Abstract

Cervical cancer remains a great challenge to global health, especially in low and middle income countries. A study estimated an occurrence of 111,000 cases of cervical cancer and 34,000 related deaths in 2015 in China [ [1] Cao M. Li H. Sun D. Chen W. Cancer burden of major cancers in China: a need for sustainable actions. Cancer Commun (Lond). 2020; 40: 205-210https://doi.org/10.1002/cac2.12025 Crossref Scopus (132) Google Scholar ]. Persistent infection of high-risk subtypes of the human papillomavirus (HPV) is known to be the main cause of cervical cancer. HPV vaccination and cervical screening programs are effective means to eliminate cervical cancer. However, HPV vaccine was only first approved in China in 2017 for women 9–45 years old. Besides that, the current cervical cancer screening program in China targets women between 35 and 64 years old, and cessation of routine cervical cancer screening in adequately screened women at the age of 65 years is recommended by the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP) [ [2] Perkins R.B. Guido R.S. Castle P.E. Chelmow D. Einstein M.H. Garcia F. et al. 2019 ASCCP risk-based management consensus guidelines for abnormal cervical cancer screening tests and cancer precursors. J Low Genit Tract Dis. 2020; 24: 102-131https://doi.org/10.1097/LGT.0000000000000525 Crossref PubMed Scopus (320) Google Scholar ]. These conditions leave older women at an unchanged risk of cervical cancer.