Cervical cancer incidence and patient survival in Manizales, Colombia, 2008-2012

To estimate the cervical cancer incidence and survival rates by histological subtype and stage in Manizales, Colombia during 2008-2012; and to compare the survival rate to the one from the previous five years.

Using population-based data, incidence rates by age were standardized for each histological subtype. Active and passive follow-up was performed to determine vital status and cause of death at 60 months. The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox models were adjusted to estimate overall survival by each covariant.

A total of 217 new cases were observed; with a mean incidence of 17.8 per 100,000 woman-years. Stages III-IV were more frequently observed in patients of medium and low socioeconomic status. At 5 years, the survival rate was 68.9%; ages over 70 years were associated with lower survival rates (p<0.001). Risk of death was 90% higher in patients with undifferentiated or unknown histological samples, when compared with those with squamous cell carcinoma (HR 1.9, 95% CI: 1.1-3.3). Likewise, the risk of death was 1.7 times higher for patients aged over 70 years (HR 2.7, 95% CI 1.6-4.8); and it was also found to be 3 times higher for stage III (HR 4.3, 95% CI: 1.8-10.2) and 7 times higher for stage IV (HR 8.7, 95% CI: 3.6-20.1), when compared with stage I.

The incidence rate of cervical cancer in Manizales was found to be similar to the global and continental rates and lower than those from other Colombian cities with similar characteristics. Advanced stages were more frequent in women of low socioeconomic status. Survival was associated with age, histological subtype and staging.