title: Cervical cancer--the impact of clinical presentation, health and race on survival.
abstract: This study evaluated the association of race, comorbid illness, insurance status, and other prognostic factors on treatment and survival of patients with invasive carcinoma of the cervix, using as its methodology a retrospective study of patients with invasive carcinoma of the cervix treated from 1991 to 1998 at the University of Maryland. Of 161 such patients, 153 met the study criteria. Of these 153 women, 83 (54%) were African Americans and 70 (46%) were white. The mean (+/- SE) age of African American women was 52 +/- 1.8 years and that of white women was 50 +/- 1.8 years. African American women were more likely to present with stages II-IV disease (P = 0.01) and, as a consequence, underwent radiation therapy rather than surgery (P = 0.04). The survival of African American women with stage I-II disease was significantly lower than for white women. In the final regression model, stage III-IV disease (hazard ratio 3.2, 95% (CI 1.7, 6.1) African American race, (hazard ratio 1.9; 95% CI 1.0, 3.3) and comorbid illnesses (hazard ratio 2.3; 95% CI 1.3-4.0) were associated with poor survival. Adverse outcomes of African American women with cervical cancer persist after adjustment for stage of disease and other factors and are particularly apparent in stage I-II disease. The role of comorbid illness is deserving of further study.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 405 W. Redwood St., 3rd Floor, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA. sbrooks@ummc001.ummc.umaryland.edu
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Brooks
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Baquet
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Moses
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghosh
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000208:ethnology / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008396:Maryland / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data