Doctors are diagnosing more young women with advanced late-stage cervical cancer, according to a study in the International Journal of Gynecological Cancer.
Local doctors said they're diagnosing more women in their 30s with stage 4 cervical cancer, adding that a lack of prevention is to blame.
“Cervical cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer in women in the United States. It's preventative,” said Dr. Kamal Sharma with the Oncology Institute of Hope and Innovation.
She stressed that prevention is key, which includes a vaccine at a young age, annual screenings, and a human papillomavirus, or HPV, test every five years.
“What we think is happening is women are not doing the annual exam with their gynecologist or primary care physician. Instead, they’re saying, 'Well, I’m not due for my pap smear, so maybe I will just let it go to the five years,'" Dr. Sharma said.
The drop in screening numbers traces back to the pandemic. According to the CDC, in April 2020, cervical cancer screenings declined 84% compared to previous years.
Doctors are also pushing to get teenagers vaccinated against HPV since 95% of cervical cancers are associated with HPV.
“It is critical to be able to vaccinate the youth and especially vaccinate people at a very early age before they’re sexually active,” Dr. Monica Avila with Moffitt Cancer Center said.
The target age for the vaccine is 11 and 12 years old.
Doctors said they are seeing a different demographic of patients.
Dr. Sharma added that historically, Black and Hispanic populations represented the largest numbers of late-stage cervical cancer. That has now shifted to white and Asian women.
“The reason for this change is, we're seeing less vaccination in the white caucasian population at the preteen age and less vaccination in the Asian population than we are in the Hispanic and Black population," she said.
Here is a list of some late-stage cervical cancer symptoms:
- Pelvic pain
- Bleeding
- Lumps in groin
- Change in appetite
- Weight loss
Some patients present these symptoms, while others don't tend to show them.
“The majority of patients that we screen for are asymptomatic," Dr. Avila said.
Doctors said the good news is that cervical cancer is treatable even in those late stages, but it's important to stay up to date with the screenings.
