A population-based study of racial and ethnic differences in survival among women with invasive cervical cancer: Analysis of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data

Objective. The incidence of cervical cancer is higher in Hispanic than in non-Hispanic or African American women in the United States, but few studies have examined differences in survival between these groups. The objective of this study was to examine racial/ethnic differences in survival after diagnosis with invasive cervical cancer in a population-based sample of patients while adjusting for patient and tumor characteristics and treatment types. Methods. We identified 7267 women (4431 non-Hispanic Caucasians, 1830 Hispanic Caucasians and 1006 non-Hispanic African Americans) diagnosed with primary invasive cervical cancer from 1992 to 1996 (with follow-up through 2000) from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards survival methods were used to assess differences in survival by race/ethnicity. Results. After adjusting for age at diagnosis, histology, stage, first course of cancer-directed treatment (surgery and radiation therapy), and SEER registry, Hispanic Caucasian women were at 26%. decreased risk of death from any cause (hazard ratio (IIR) = 0.74, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.66-0.83) and non-Hispanic African American women were at 19%. increased risk of death (HR 1.19, 95% CI: 1.06-1.33) compared to non-Hispanic Caucasian women over the follow-up period. Conclusion. Analysis of population-based SEER data indicates significant survival differences by race ethnicity for women with invasive cervical cancer. Hispanic Caucasian women in SEER had improved survival compared to non-Hispanic Caucasian or non-Hispanic African American women. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.