Genetic analysis of cervical cancers hints at targets for treatments

More than 19 million Americans died from cancer during that time, the study found. To assess risk of death, most studies use data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, comparing the numbers of those who have died from cervical cancer to the population at risk. However, researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health made a decision to go about calculating the figures differently – by excluding females from the study who have undergone removal of their cervix, and thus, were incapable of developing cervical cancer.

But while Miami-Dade’s mortality rate for all cancers has declined, Mokdad said it is important to consider the disparities across and within communities.

“There was nearly a 125 percent increase in mortality rate for blacks and an 83 percent increase for whites when they made the correction with hysterectomy for the same age”, Farley said.

Also, without the correction, the disparity in mortality between races was underestimated by 44 percent. And for some groups of women-particularly older black women-the increase in cancer rates was as high as 125 percent.

“Women 21 years and up should have regular screenings”, said Dora Coker, registered nurse and coordinator of the Tennessee Breast and Cervical Screening Program (TBCSP) for the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department, “Lack of money, insurance, or a regular doctor should not be the reason why Hamilton County women do not get screened”.

Women over 65 might not need to continue screening if they don’t have a history of cervical cancer or negative pap test results, according to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Oddly enough, rates of Pap smear testing are remarkably similar between black and white women, suggesting that the difference in death rates may be a result of disparate access to treatment and care rather than to the screening programs themselves. They also are prone to more aggressive types of cervical cancer.

In fact, over the last 40 years, the death rate from cervical cancer has dropped by more than 50 percent.

Dee Lockwood-Hicks didn’t find out about her cervical cancer until it was too late for a quicker fix.

Cervical screening isn’t a test for cancer; it’s a test to check the health of the cells of the cervix.

The HPV vaccine helps prevent cervical cancer but that doesn’t mean women should forgo Pap test screening, cancer experts say. And if Congress gets away with defunding Planned Parenthood, then what will vulnerable women have less access to?

Becky said: “It’s been a terrible ordeal for mum and if we can encourage other women to go for their smear tests, having read mum’s story, then that’s one potential more life saved”.

“Death rates differ dramatically between different types of cancers, and certain regions saw great progress in reducing cancer deaths and others fell behind”, said lead researcher Dr. Christopher Murray. “We’re hoping that it will be up to at least 80 percent (in 2020)”. Approximately 75 percent of sexually active people will get HPV sometime in their life.