Cervical cancer incidences in urban and rural areas

CEBU, Philippines - Cervical cancer is the third most widespread cancer in the world. It is caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). This virus is acquired through sexual contact with someone who is infected by it.

The occurrence of HPV is well associated with cervical cancer risk, particularly in middle-aged women.

China shows a high risk of cervical cancer among rural women compared to urban women.

The result was based on the recent study conducted in the nine out of twenty-three provinces of China.

The study shows that rural women had started sexual relationships at lower age compared to urban women.

The occurrence of high-risk HPV in rural women may therefore be explained by the fact that age of first sexual intercourse and first birth were three and four years earlier than urban women.

Among the 30,207 women who were screened in the study, majority of the rural women were found to have two or more sexual partners.

The husband’s extramarital sexual relationships may also contribute to the rise of high-risk HPV occurrence in married women.

The lack of awareness of rural women on cervical cancer is a factor on the high risk of cervical cancer.

Middle-aged women were also found to have a high risk of HPV prevalence.

But women at the age of 40 and above should also be screened and be treated early because they harbor significant proportion of precancerous cells that build up over time.

In Metro Cebu, as reported by the Metro Cebu Population-based Cancer Registry of Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.’s (RAFI) Eduardo J. Aboitiz Cancer Center (EJACC), cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women next to breast cancer.  Its incidence rate rises abruptly for women 30 years old and above.

Fortunately, 90 percent of this type of cancer is curable if it is detected and treated early. In 2003-2007, a total of 165 of 311 patients diagnosed with cervical cancer died. The National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results also estimates that of 12,170 women who would be diagnosed with cervical cancer, 4,220 would die from the disease.

This article, based on the study “Prevalence of human papillomavirus and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in China: A pooled analysis of 17 population-based studies” by Jerome L. Belinson, et.al., is contributed by the Eduardo J. Aboitiz Cancer Center (EJACC) of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI). For more information about RAFI EJACC, please contact 254-6351 or 256-3287 and look for Gina Mariquit, or visit www.rafi.org.ph or www.facebook.com/rafi.org.ph.

The FREEMAN with the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) is running bi-monthly features on various cancer topics to emphasize the importance of early detection in preventing cancer and to increase public support for cancer initiatives. For comments and suggestions, e-mail [email protected].