UICC World Cancer Congress 2006

Objective: This study examines trends in cervical cancer incidence in Kingston and St. Andrew, Jamaica over the period 1973 – 2002. Comprehensive cervical cancer screening, which has been shown to reduce the incidence by up to 70%, has not yet been fully implemented in Jamaica.

Methods: Cases of cervical cancer were retrieved from the files of the Jamaica Cancer Registry, for the period 1973 – 2002, utilizing the 5 yearly reports in cancer incidence published by the Registry. The overall incidence, mean age of cases, standard deviation and median age were calculated for both in situ and invasive cervical cancer, for successive 5-year periods between 1973 and 2002.

Results: Invasive cervical cancer showed a 36% decrease in incidence from 29.8 per 100 000 per year to 19.0 per 100 000 per year. In situ carcinomas demonstrated a progressive increase (approximately 136%) in incidence from 11.7 per 100 000 per year to 27.6 per 100 000 per year. The mean age of patients with invasive cervical cancer decreased from 55.7 years to 49.0 years, while the mean age of patients with in situ carcinoma decreased from 40.1 years to 34.3 years. This study, while demonstrating moderate effectiveness of local cervical cancer screening, should encourage the health authorities to redouble the efforts to implement a comprehensive cervical screening programme, so that the inherent benefits can be fully realized.