J Low Genit Tract Dis

Importance:

Current cancer screening guidelines recommend cessation of cervical cancer screening at age 65 for most women. To examine residual risk among elderly women, we compared cervical cancer incidence rates in Massachusetts from 2004–2015 among women aged <65 vs. ≥65.

Methods:

The Massachusetts Cancer Registry (MCR) was used to identify all women diagnosed with cervical cancer between 1/1/2004–12/31/2015. Cancer incidence was calculated based on age of diagnosis (<65 vs. ≥65).

Results:

In Massachusetts, 2,418 incident cases of cervical cancer were diagnosed from 2004–2014, of which 571 (23.6%) were diagnosed among women ages 65 and older. When compared with women diagnosed under age 65, women diagnosed at age ≥65 were more likely to be diagnosed with Stage II or higher (71.8% vs. 43.8%, p < 0.001). Cervical cancer incidence rates decreased annually for women <65 from 2004–2015. Among women aged ≥65, cancer incidence rates decreased by 3.9% annually from 2004–2013 (p=0.0009), but 2013–2015 showed an increasing trend (APC + 14.1%, p=0.12).

Conclusions and Relevance:

Women 65 and over account for one quarter of cervical cancer diagnoses in Massachusetts, and present with higher stage disease than younger women. Upcoming planned revisions in screening and prevention guidelines should address the continued risk of cervical cancer for older women.

30256336

PMC6161498

Journal Article

CDC Public Access