Breast and cervical cancer surveillance, United States, 1973-1987

Breast and cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates were reviewed for the period 1973-1987. For breast cancer, mortality has been relatively stable, increasing from 26.9/100,000 women in 1973 to 27.1 in 1987. Alternatively, data from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, End Results Program (SEER) showed a 36% increase in the incidence of this malignancy over the same period. In 1987, overall incidence of invasive breast cancer was 111.9/100,000 women. White women experienced lower overall mortality rates and higher overall incidence than black women; however, these differences varied by age. Examination of breast cancer incidence by stage of disease at diagnosis revealed that rates for distant and regional disease have remained relatively stable since 1973. In contrast, rates of localized and in situ cancers exhibited an increase in the 1980s that may correspond to increased use of mammography in this country. The rate of decline in cervical cancer incidence and mortality has slowed in recent years. In 1987, 3.0 cervical cancer deaths/100,000 women occurred. SEER incidence for invasive disease for that year was 8.2/100,000. Rates varied by race, age, state, and stage of disease. In general, black women experienced much higher incidence and mortality from invasive cervical cancer than white women. For both races, rates of in situ disease were highest among young women and decreased rapidly with age. Rates of in situ cervical cancer were consistently higher than rates of invasive cancer for the time period studied.