Changing pattern of cervical carcinoma: a report of 709 cases of invasive carcinoma treated in 1970-1974.
Seven hundred and nine new cases of carcinoma of the uterine cervix were treated by surgery, radiotherapy, or both at Helsinki University Central Hospital between 1970 and 1974. Of these, 241 (34.0%) died of the disease during the 5-year follow-up period. Three hundred and eighty-three (53.9%) of the patients were operated on and in 112 (29.3%) of them the stage of the disease had been underestimated preoperatively. This was mainly due to the undetected lymph node involvement observed first at operation in 72 cases (18.8%). In 237 of the patients carcinoma was confined to the cervix according to findings at operation but in 24 (10.1%) of them a relapse or metastasis was observed within 5 years. Comparison of the results for 1970-1974 with those from the same hospital for 1926-1969 revealed a reversal in the steady improvement in the total 5-year survival rates. It is concluded that, even if the incidence of cervical carcinoma in Finland is to decrease, the prognosis for the disease may become poorer. This is mainly due to a shift in the peak incidence of cervical carcinoma to older age groups. Also a mass screening program is likely to decrease the relative number of slowly growing, less aggressive type of the disease.
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000401:mortality*; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000401:mortality*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000401:mortality*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy