The global burden of cervical cancer requiring surgery: database estimates

Scaling up surgical services for cervical cancer in low and middle income countries requires quantification of the need for those services. The aim of this study was to estimate the global burden of cervical cancer for which access to surgery is required.

This was a retrospective analysis of publicly available data. Cervical cancer incidence was extracted for each country from the World Health Organization, International Agency for Research, Global Cancer Observatory. The proportion of cases requiring surgery was extrapolated from the United States Surveillance, Epidemiology and End-Result database. The need for cervical cancer surgery was tested against development indicators.

Data were available for 175 countries, representing 2.9 billion females aged 15 and over. There were approximately 566,911 women diagnosed with cervical cancer (95% CI 565,462-568,360). An estimated 56.9% of these women (322,686) would require surgery for diagnosis, treatment or palliation (95% CI 321,955 - 323,417). Cervical cancers for which surgery is required represent less than 1% of cancers in high income countries, and nearly 10% of cancers in low income countries.

At least 300,000 cervical cancer cases worldwide require access to surgical services annually. Gathering data on available cervical cancer surgery services in LMIC are a critical next step.