title: Persistent Disparities in Hispanics with Cervical Cancer in a Major City.
abstract: Despite an overall improvement in cervical cancer screening, incidence, and mortality rates for minorities in the USA, regional differences in screening and stage at presentation have been observed. This study evaluated cervical cancer disparities in a predominately Hispanic population treated in a major treatment center in San Antonio, Texas.
  
  
  
  Data on 446 patients with cervical cancer treated between 2000 and 2011 at the Cancer Therapy and Research Center in San Antonio, Texas, were reviewed. Sufficient information was obtained on 319 patients and was compared with the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data.
  
  
  
  Of 319 patients treated for cervical cancer between 2000 and 2011, 209 were Hispanics and 110 were Whites (82), Blacks (20), Asians (7), and others (1). The median and mean ages at diagnosis were 47 and 49, respectively. Only 36 % were known to have screening Pap tests prior to diagnosis, of which only 24 had yearly Pap tests. Forty-two patients (20 %) of those with no known screening Pap tests presented with stage IV disease at diagnosis (vs. 3 % of those with known Pap tests). Among the Hispanics, 68 % presented with regional disease (vs. 37 % SEER) and 46 % were stage III or higher disease, with stage IIIB accounting for 30 % of total. Although the overall age-adjusted death rates were higher in Hispanics due to a higher percentage of more advanced disease, survival rates appear similar, stage for stage, to the SEER data.
  
  
  
  Even in a major city, Hispanics often present with more advanced cervical cancer than the general population. In order to minimize the cervical cancer disparities, efforts and strategies are needed to study the cultural and locale effects and to implement preventive measures and adaptive health education.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Therapy & Research Center, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA. eng@uthscsa.edu.
authors.forename: Tony Y
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Eng
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Therapy & Research Center, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA.
authors.forename: Tiffany
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Therapy & Research Center, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA.
authors.forename: Jill
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vincent
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Therapy & Research Center, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA.
authors.forename: Abhilasha J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Therapy & Research Center, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA.
authors.forename: Virginia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Clyburn
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Therapy & Research Center, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA.
authors.forename: Chul S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Ha
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001213:Asian; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000208:ethnology*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D065006:Papanicolaou Test / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018426:SEER Program; D013781:Texas; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000473:pathology; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Advanced stages; Cervical cancer; Disparities; Hispanics; Survival rates