The American Cancer Society's most recent estimates for cervical cancer in the United States are for 2012:
- About 12,170 new cases of invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed.
- About 4,220 women will die from cervical cancer.
Some researchers estimate that non-invasive cervical cancer (carcinoma in situ) occurs about 4 times more often than invasive cervical cancer.
Cervical cancer was once one of the most common causes of cancer death for American women. Then, between 1955 and 1992, the cervical cancer death rate declined by almost 70%. The main reason for this change was the increased use of the Pap test. This screening procedure can find changes in the cervix before cancer develops. It can also find cervical cancer early -- in its most curable stage. The death rate from cervical cancer continued to decline until 2003. Since then it has remained stable in white women, but has gone down in African American women.
Cervical cancer tends to occur in midlife. Most cases are found in women younger than 50. It rarely develops in women younger than 20. Many older women do not realize that the risk of developing cervical cancer is still present as they age. More than 20% of women with cervical cancer are diagnosed when they are over 65. That is why it is important for older women to continue having regular Pap tests. See the section, "Can cervical cancer be prevented?" for more specific information on current American Cancer Society screening recommendations.
In the United States, Hispanic women are most likely to get cervical cancer, followed by African-Americans, Asians and Pacific Islanders, and whites. American Indians and Alaskan natives have the lowest risk of cervical cancer in this country.
Feedback
