Increasing risk of invasive adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix in Cali, Colombia

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer remains in Colombia the first cause of cancer mortality and the second cause of cancer incidence among women. Little is known on time trends of this cancer in Latin America.

METHODS: Data from the Population based Cancer Registry of Cali, were used to estimate mortality and incidence rates for cervical carcinoma diagnosed during 1962-2007 by histologic subtype: squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma (AC). Age-specific incidence rates per 100,000 for two age groups: 25–49 and 50–74 years were estimated. Annual percent change (APC) was estimated to assess trends.

RESULTS: The age-adjusted incidence rate (per 100,000) of cervical cancer has decreased from 75.1 in 1962 to 20.1 in 2007. The overall incidence of invasive SCC declined over time for both age groups, APC: -3.2 [CI95%: -3.6; -2.8] and APC=-3.4 [-3.8; -3.1]. Significantly increasing incidence trends were observed for AC for women younger than 50 years. Annual incidence increase was 1.6% [95%CI: 0.5, 2.7], no change was observed in older women. Overall death rates have continued to decrease since the early 1980s. The APC was -4.4 [95%CI: -4.9, - 3.8].

CONCLUSION: A significant increase in the incidence of cervical adenocarcinomas in women younger than 50 years was observed. Further investigation is needed to understand the cause of this remarkable phenomenon.