Racial differences in cervical cancer mortality in Chicago

Endogenous Retrovirus RNA Expression Differences between Race, Stage and HPV Status Offer Improved Prognostication among Women with Cervical Cancer

Endogenous human retroviruses (ERVs) are remnants of exogenous retroviruses that have integrated into the human genome. Using publicly available RNA-seq data from 63 cervical cancer patients, we investigated the expression of ERVs in cervical cancers. Four aspects of cervical cancer were investigated: patient ancestral background, tumor HPV type, tumor stage and patient survival. Between the racial subgroups, 74 ERVs were significantly differentially expressed, with Black Americans having 30 upregulated and 44 downregulated (including MER21C, HERV9-int, and HERVH-int) ERVs when compared to White Americans. We found that 3313 ERVs were differentially expressed between HPV subgroups, including MER41A, HERVH-int and HERVK9. There were 28 downregulated (including MLT1D and HERVH-int) and 61 upregulated (including MER41A) ERVs in locally advanced-stage compared to early-stage samples. Tissue microarrays of cervical cancer patients were used to investigate the protein expression of ERVs with protein coding potential (i.e., HERVK and ERV3). Significant differences in protein expression of ERV3 (p = 0.000905) were observed between early-stage and locally advanced-stage tumors. No significant differential expression at the protein level was found for HERVK7 (p = 0.243). We also investigated a prognostic model, supplementing a baseline prediction model using FIGO stage, age and HPV positivity with ERVs data. The expression levels of all ERVs in the HERVd were input into a Lasso-Cox proportional hazards model, developing a predictive 67-ERV panel. When ERVs expression levels were supplemented with the clinical data, a significant increase in prognostic power (p = 9.433 × 10-15) relative to that obtained with the clinical parameters alone (p = 0.06027) was observed. In summary, ERV RNA expression in cervical cancer tumors is significantly different among racial cohorts, HPV subgroups and disease stages. The combination of the expression of certain ERVs in cervical cancers with clinical factors significantly improved prognostication compared to clinical factors alone; therefore, ERVs may serve as future prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Novelty and Impact: When endogenous retroviral (ERV) expression signatures were combined with currently employed clinical prognosticators of relapse of cervical cancer, the combination outperformed prediction models based on clinical prognosticators alone. ERV expression signatures in tumor biopsies may therefore be useful to help identify patients at greater risk of recurrence. The novel ERV expression signatures or adjacent genes possibly impacted by ERV expression described here may also be targets for the development of future therapeutic interventions.

Drug Overdose Deaths Among US Hispanics: Trends (2000-2017) and Recent Patterns

The US drug overdose crisis has devastated communities across the nation, yet relatively little is known about recent impacts in diverse Hispanic populations. Purpose: This study explored demographic and drug patterns in overdose deaths among US Hispanics in 2017, as well as longer-term time trends in drug overdose mortality among Hispanics from 2000 to 2017. Methods: Death certificate data were obtained from the National Center for Health Statistics. Bivariate analyses examined demographic and drug characteristics of the 5,988 drug overdose deaths among Hispanics in 2017. Data from 2017 were also utilized to compute age-adjusted drug overdose mortality rates for Hispanics overall, for specific Hispanic heritage groups, and for Non-Hispanic Whites (as a frame of reference). Joinpoint Regression was used to characterize trends in drug overdose mortality among US Hispanic men and women between 2000 and 2017. Results: The majority of Hispanic drug overdose decedents in 2017 were male (76.1%) and US-born (70.0%). Synthetic opioids were involved in the highest proportion of deaths in all Hispanic heritages, except the Mexican heritage group, in which psychostimulants were most commonly involved. The 2017 age-adjusted drug overdose mortality rate for Hispanics overall was lower than the rate among Non-Hispanic Whites, yet the rate among Puerto Rican-heritage Hispanics (29.0, 95% CI 27.6-30.4) was 6% higher than among Non-Hispanic Whites (27.4, 95% CI 27.2-27.6). Conclusions: Results highlight substantial variation in Hispanic drug overdose mortality rates, indicating that national rates for Hispanics obscure higher-risk subgroups. The diverse demographic profiles of Hispanic drug overdose decedents underscore the need for culturally tailored interventions.

Genetic alterations and PIK3CA gene mutations and amplifications analysis in cervical cancer by racial groups in the United States

INTRODUCTION

A number of studies indicated racial differences in cervical cancer outcomes and several factors are associated with it such as stage, comorbidities, treatment pattern, and socioeconomic status. However, the associations of tumor genomic patterns such as phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha (PIK3CA) gene mutations and amplifications with cervical cancer racial disparities are largely unexplored.

OBJECTIVES

Therefore, the present investigation aimed to identify genetic alterations (mutations and copy number variations) in cervical cancer and determine whether the PIK3CA gene mutations and amplifications in cervical cancer differ across racial/ethnic groups in the United States.

METHODS

This study made use of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. TCGA database is a publicly available database that was created by a joint effort between the National Cancer Institute and the National Human Genome Research Institute. The two-tailed Fisher's exact test was used to test for associations between the categorical variables, race, and PIK3CA gene mutation as well as PIK3CA gene amplification using the "Fisher test" function in R.

RESULTS

There were 309 cervical cancer samples, and of these, 194 samples had gene mutations and 295 samples had copy number alteration data. The top five mutated genes in TCGA dataset were PIK3CA, MUC4, KMT2C, SYNE1, and KMT2D. The top five amplified genes in TCGA dataset were MECOM, TP63, PRKCI, PIK3CA, and TRFC. The PIK3CA gene had the highest number of mutations with 53 mutation counts. The mutation rates were 62.5%, 31.3%, 25.4%, and 21.1% for American Indian, African American, White, and Asian, respectively. The amplification rates were 28.6%, 21.1%, 18.9%, and 12.5% for African American, Asian, White, and American Indian.

CONCLUSIONS

There are many significantly mutated or amplified genes implicated in cervical cancer. Some of them are not grouped with the already known genes in relation to cervical cancer. For example, the KMT2C, SYNE1, KMT2D, EP300, RYR2, FLG, DMD, FBXW, MECOM, TRFC, RPL35A, LPP, TBL, FGF12, and SOX2 genes. They can be explored as therapeutic targets to improve cervical cancer treatment.

Assessment of mediators of racial disparities in cervical cancer survival in the United States

Cervical cancer (CC) morbidity and mortality have decreased in the United States, but they remain high among black women. We assessed racial disparities in CC mortality, accounting for socioeconomic status (SES). We linked data from the 1988 to 2007 Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database to the US Census. Additional SES information was obtained through linkage with Area Resource Files. We used the Kaplan-Meier method for estimating probabilities following CC diagnosis and Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for CC mortality by race. The models were incrementally adjusted for marital status, registry, period, stage, age at diagnosis, histology, treatment, household income, poverty and unemployment rates. We stratified the analyses by disease stage and American state. A total of 44,554 women with CC were identified. Compared to white women, black women had a higher risk of dying from CC; crude and adjusted HRs were 1.41 (CI: 1.34-1.48) and 1.09 (CI: 1.03-1.15), respectively. Corresponding estimates for Hispanic women were 0.85 (CI: 0.80-0.89) and 0.75 (CI: 0.71-0.80). Black women diagnosed at late disease stages had a higher risk of CC death, whereas Hispanic women diagnosed at early and late stages had significantly lower risks. Black CC patients in California experienced poorer survival relative to white women. Conversely, longer CC survival was seen among Hispanic women in California, Georgia and Utah. While crude estimates indicated an increased CC death risk among black women, risks diminished upon adjustment for clinical and sociodemographic characteristics.

Barriers to HPV immunization for African American adolescent females

PURPOSE

The objective of this study was to identify motivations and barriers to HPV vaccination and culturally relevant and meaningful opportunities for vaccine promotion among African American mothers and adolescent daughters. Qualitative methods were employed to identify barriers to HPV immunization and understand mothers motivations to vaccinate their daughters. We conducted in-depth interviews with 19 mother-daughter pairs focused on 5 key areas: health history, prior vaccine experience, knowledge of HPV and HPV vaccine, relationship with physician, and experience of cervical dysplasia and cervical cancer (CD/CC).

RESULTS

Four key factors drive HPV immunization among African-American mothers of adolescent daughters. First, mothers' CD/CC disease experiences motivated a strong commitment to protect daughters from the trauma of CD/CC. Second, limited understanding of HPV and its connection to CD/CC made it difficult for mothers to assess the risk of infection or explain the medical benefits of the vaccine to their daughters. Third, mothers anticipate the sexual debut of adolescent daughters and advocate for healthcare interventions to protect them. Mothers were not deterred by multiple visits to complete the vaccine series; they likened HPV immunization to injectable contraceptives that require a series of injections and offer protection from the unintended consequences of sexual activity. Finally, mothers trusted physicians to initiate discussion of HPV immunization. Physicians who failed to initiate discussion and offer unconditional endorsement generated doubt about the vaccine among mothers and missed opportunities for immunization.

CONCLUSIONS

Our initial results indicate that physicians can engage in culturally relevant vaccine promotion in urban, underserved African American communities by initiating discussions of HPV immunization that (1) acknowledge mothers' own CD/CC experiences, (2) support parenting strategies that aim to protect daughters from the unintended consequences of sexual activity, and (3) make explicit the connection between CD/CC and HPV infection, and between prevention of HPV infection and HPV immunization.

Ethnic disparities in cervical cancer survival among Texas women

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this work was to determine whether minority women are more likely to die of cervical cancer. A population-based cohort study was performed using Texas Cancer Registry (TCR) data from 1998 to 2002.

METHODS

A total of 5,166 women with cervical cancer were identified during 1998-2002 through the TCR. Measures of socioeconomic status (SES) and urbanization were created using census block group-level data. Multilevel logistic regression was used to calculate the odds of dying from cervical cancer by race, and Cox proportional hazards modeling was used for cervical cancer-specific survival analysis.

RESULTS

After adjusting for age, SES, urbanization, stage, cell type, and treatment, Hispanic women were significantly less likely than non-Hispanic White women to die from cervical cancer (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 0.69; 95% CI [confidence interval] = 0.59-0.80), whereas Black women were more likely to die (aHR = 1.26; 95% CI = 1.06-1.50). Black and Hispanic women were more likely to be diagnosed at a later stage than White women. Black women were significantly less likely to receive surgery among those diagnosed with localized disease (p = 0.001) relative to both White and Hispanic women.

CONCLUSIONS

Relative to non-Hispanic White women, Black women were more likely to die of cervical cancer while Hispanic women were less likely to die; these survival differences were not explained by SES, urbanization, age, cell type, stage at diagnosis, or treatment.

Racial disparities in cervical cancer mortality in an African American and European American cohort in South Carolina

South Carolina (SC) has some of the largest health disparities in the nation, in particular cancer mortality rates that disfavor African Americans (AA) in comparison to European Americans (EA) with 37% higher incidence and 61% higher mortality rates for AA women compared to EA women. Consequently, the purpose of this investigation was to examine and compare the impact of race on survival among cervical cancer patients in SC. Data from the SC Central Cancer Registry on all AA and EA cervical cancer patients in SC were analyzed for this investigation. All women greater than 19 years of age with a histopathologically-confirmed cervical neoplasm were included. Kaplan Meier survival curves were calculated and compared for each racial group using the log rank test statistic. Significant differences between races were noted for alcohol use, grade, histology, marital status, and vital status. AA women with cervical cancer had significantly decreased survival compared to EA women (49% vs. 66%, p < 0.01). This same trend was noted for all grade, histology, and stage types. We found significantly decreased survival among AA women with cervical cancer compared to EA women, which persisted even among AA and EA women with the same disease stage, grade, or histology. The causes of these disparities are most likely multi-faceted and interdependent. These findings emphasize the need for intervention into the myriad of factors ranging from the biological and genetic to the environmental and structural barriers impacting cervical cancer mortality.

Ethnic Disparities in Cervical Cancer Survival Among Medicare Eligible Women in a Multiethnic Population

Objectives:

To determine predictors of cervical cancer survival by socioeconomic status (SES), urbanization, race/ethnicity, comorbid conditions, and treatment among elderly Medicare-eligible women whose conditions were diagnosed with cervical cancer in a multiethnic population.

Methods:

A total of 538 women with cervical cancer aged 65 years or older were identified from 1999 to 2001 from the Texas Cancer Registry and were linked with the state Medicare data and Texas Vital Records to determine survival times. All women had similar access to care through Medicare fee-for-services insurance. A composite measure of SES was created using census tract-level data as was urbanization. Treatment and comorbid conditions were available from the Medicare data. Cox proportional hazards modeling was used for all-cause and cervical cancer-specific survival analysis.

Results:

Increased age (P < 0.0001) and advanced tumor stage (P < 0.0001) were associated with poorer all-cause and cervical cancer-specific survival. Having a comorbid condition was associated with all-cause survival (P < 0.01) but not cervical cancer-specific mortality. After adjusting for confounders, women receiving some form of treatment were almost half as likely to die with cervical cancer (adjusted hazard ratio = 0.68; 95% confidence interval, 0.52-0.89). After adjustment for all confounders, Hispanic women consistently had lower all-cause and cervical cancer-specific mortality rates relative to non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black women.

Conclusions:

Among women with similar health care coverage, Hispanic women had consistently lower all-cause and cervical cancer-specific mortality rates than other older women whose conditions were diagnosed with this disease in Texas. The presence of comorbid conditions and treatment were important predictors of survival, yet these factors do not explain the survival advantage for Hispanic women.

Racial differences in cervical cancer survival in the Detroit metropolitan area

BACKGROUND

African-American (AA) women have lower survival rates from cervical cancer compared with white women. The objective of this study was to examine the influence of socioeconomic status (SES) and other variables on racial disparities in overall survival among women with invasive cervical cancer.

METHODS

One thousand thirty-six women (705 white women and 331 AA women) who were diagnosed with primary invasive cancer of the cervix between 1988 and 1992 were identified through the Metropolitan Detroit Cancer Surveillance System (MDCSS), a registry in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Pathology, treatment, and survival data were obtained through SEER. SES was categorized by using occupation, poverty, and educational status at the census tract level. Cox proportional hazards models were used to compare overall survival between AA women and white women adjusting for sociodemographics, clinical presentation, and treatment.

RESULTS

AA women were more likely to present at an older age (P<.001), with later stage disease (P<.001), and with squamous histology (P=.01), and they were more likely to reside in a census tract categorized as Working Poor (WP) (P<.001). After multivariate adjustment, race no longer had a significant impact on survival. Women who resided in a WP census tract had a higher risk of death than women from a Professional census tract (P=.05). There was a significant interaction between disease stage and time with the effect of stage on survival attenuated after 6 years.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, factors that affected access to medical care appeared to have a more important influence than race on the long-term survival of women with invasive cervical cancer.

What Is It Like To Be in the Minority? Ethnic and Gender Diversity in the Genetic Counseling Profession

Increasingly, the genetic counseling profession is recognizing the need for greater ethnic and gender diversity. Recruitment and retention efforts may be enhanced by better understanding of the experience of individuals considered to be underrepresented in the profession. In this qualitative study, 8 genetic counseling students and 7 practicing genetic counselors who were ethnic minority and/or male participated in semi-structured telephone interviews regarding how they were introduced to the field, perceived career supports and barriers, their experiences within training programs and the field, and suggestions for increasing diversity. Introduction to the field tended to be late and accidental. There were several career supports (e.g., field combines science and helping others) and barriers (e.g., lack of information about the field). Participant experiences, although primarily positive, included instances of passive, unintentional discrimination; and there were internal and external pressures to be diversity experts and positive representatives of their group. Participants reported positively impacting colleagues' cultural competency and offering a different presence within clinical settings. Suggestions for increasing diversity and research recommendations are given.

Cervical cancer survival by socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, and place of residence in Texas, 1995-2001

OBJECTIVE

The current study explored whether socioeconomic status (SES), race/ethnicity, and rural residence may be linked to poorer cervical cancer survival by stage at diagnosis.

METHODS

Data from 7,237 cervical cancer cases reported to the Texas Cancer Registry from 1995-2001 were used to address the association by stage at diagnosis and cause of death. Zip code-level census data were used to classify residence and to develop a composite variable for SES. Multilevel Cox proportional hazards modeling was used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

RESULTS

Late stage at diagnosis was a strong predictor of cervical cancer mortality (HR = 6.2, 95% CI 5.5-7.2). SES and race/ethnicity were independently associated with stage at diagnosis. Women residing in areas with lower SES had significantly shorter survival times when diagnosed at an early stage (HR = 3.0, 95% CI 2.1-4.3). Hispanic women had a lower probability of dying from cervical cancer during the follow-up period (HR = 0.7, 95% CI 0.6- 0.8) after adjusting for confounders. The association between lower SES and poorer survival was consistent across all racial/ethnic groups, suggesting the effect of SES may be more important than race.

CONCLUSIONS

SES and race/ethnicity were independently associated with poorer cervical cancer survival in this large Texas sample. Further research is needed to investigate the role of optimal treatment and comorbid conditions in the association between SES and cervical cancer survival.

Socioeconomic status and cervical cancer survival among older women: findings from the SEER-Medicare linked data cohorts

OBJECTIVES

Tumor stage, age, and cell type are well-characterized predictors for cervical cancer survival; socioeconomic factors may also play an important role. The purpose of this study is to estimate cervical cancer survival by socioeconomic indicators and race/ethnicity among elderly women diagnosed with cervical cancer.

METHODS

We studied 1251 women with cervical cancer aged 65 or older, identified between 1992 and 1999 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results [SEER]-Medicare linked data. All women had similar access to care through Medicare fee-for-services insurance. A composite measure of socioeconomic status was created using census tract level data for poverty, education, and income. Cox proportional hazard modeling was used for all-cause and cervical cancer-specific survival analysis.

RESULTS

Increased age (P < 0.0001) and advanced tumor stage (<0.0001) were associated with poorer all-cause and cervical cancer-specific survival. After adjustment for age, stage, and treatment, increased co-morbidity scores and having non-squamous cervical cancer were associated with poorer all-cause survival (P < 0.001). After adjusting for confounders, women receiving hysterectomy vs. no surgery or any treatment had significantly better all-cause and cervical cancer-specific survival. Socioeconomic factors were not associated with either all-cause (P for trend = 0.79) or cervical cancer-specific (P for trend = 0.81) survival. No racial/ethnic differences in all-cause or cervical cancer-specific survival were observed after adjusting for socioeconomic factors.

CONCLUSION

Among women with similar access to care, neither minority race/ethnicity nor poorer socioeconomic status were associated with poorer survival in this large sample of older women diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer. Presence of co-morbid conditions and treatment were important predictors of cervical cancer survival.

Social inequities along the cervical cancer continuum: a structured review

OBJECTIVE

To reveal areas of research/knowledge related to social inequities and cervical cancer.

METHODS

A Medline search was performed looking for US based research on cervical cancer and social inequities since 1990. The papers found were organized into cells defined by a "cancer disparities grid."

RESULTS

The majority of research published about cervical cancer and social inequities in the US, lies within the social domains of: race/ethnicity and socioeconomic position. Conflicting information exists as to whether race/ethnicity is a good predictor of screening and survival. Some research implied that differentials based on race/ethnicity are likely secondary to differentials in socioeconomic position. Some research about age, insurance status, and immigrant status and cervical cancer was found. Scarce information was found relating to sexuality, language, disability and geography and cervical cancer.

DISCUSSION

The "cancer disparities grid" facilitated a systematic and visual review of existing literature on social inequities and cervical cancer. The grid helped to elucidate uncontested existing social inequities, conflicting social inequities, and areas where social inequity data does not exist. The cancer disparities grid can be used as a research tool to help identify areas for future research, clinical programs, and political action related to cervical cancer and social inequities.

Ethnic differences in survival among Pacific Island patients diagnosed with cervical cancer

BACKGROUND

It was the purpose of this study to investigate whether Pacific Island (PI) ethnicity, Micronesian and Polynesian, is an independent prognostic factor in the survival of cervical cancer in a health care system with minimal racial bias and few barriers to access to care.

METHODS

Records from 1988 to 1999 were reviewed for the U.S. Military Health Care System. The medical records of women with the diagnosis of invasive cervical cancer were abstracted and clinical data recorded. A cohort analysis based on Pacific Island ethnicity was also performed on all patients treated at Tripler Army Medical Center (TAMC) during this time period. Significant differences in distribution of clinical factors were determined by Wilcoxon rank-sum test and survival analyses were performed using Kaplan-Meier actuarial statistics.

RESULTS

A total of 153 patients were identified who were treated at TAMC; 74 were of PI ethnicity. An additional 1400 patients were identified throughout the military health care system during this time. Forty-eight percent of non-PI TAMC patients were Caucasian, 14% Filipino, and 13% Korean. The mean age of PI was 45 versus 40 years for their non-PI counterparts. There was no difference in the distribution of the grade of tumors among cohorts analyzed. Seventy-five percent of non-PI patients presented at an early stage while 74% of PI women presented at an advanced stage. Twenty-three percent of PI patients had positive lymph nodes, versus 7% of non-PI patients. There was no difference in the radiation dosages among patients treated with primary radiation therapy. PI patients had a significantly decreased 5-year survival, 32% versus 71%, compared to their cervical cancer patient counterparts, P < 0.001. Multivariate analysis revealed PI ethnicity to be a significant independent predictor of decreased survival, P < 0.001.

CONCLUSION

PI women diagnosed with cervical cancer tend to present at an advanced age and stage with metastatic disease. They have a decreased survival that remains present after adjusting for age, stage, and grade. The poor prognosis is likely due to lack of uniform screening among this population; however, molecular etiologies and human papillomavirus could also contribute to decreased survival.

Characteristics and survival of cervical cancer patients managed at adjacent urban public and university medical centers

OBJECTIVE

The goal of this work was to compare characteristics and survival of cervical cancer patients at adjacent public and university hospitals to define the effects of poverty and ethnicity on disease.

METHODS

A retrospective chart review was conducted of cervical cancer patients managed by gynecologic oncologists at two adjacent urban hospitals between 1992 and 1998. Continuous variables were compared by t test, categorical variables by chi(2), and survival by the Kaplan-Meier and log-rank methods.

RESULTS

In all, 372 patients were identified, with 209 (56%) at the public hospital and 163 (44%) at the adjacent university hospital. Ethnic distribution differed between the two hospitals: 100 (52%) versus 46 (28%) African-American, 56 (29%) versus 13 (8%) Hispanic, 31 (16%) versus 96 (60%) Caucasian, and 5 (3%) versus 6 (4%) other (P < 0.001). In addition, public hospital patients presented with more advanced cancers (stages II--IV) than those managed at the university hospital, 96 (48%) versus 53 (34%) (P = 0.008), and squamous cancers were more common at the public hospital, 154 (89%) versus 120 (76%) (P = 0.03). However, with a median follow-up of 17 months, stage-adjusted survival did not differ between the two institutions.

CONCLUSIONS

The higher proportions of advanced and squamous cervical cancers encountered at the public hospital likely reflect suboptimal screening. Equal access to gynecologic oncologists eliminated disparities in stage-adjusted survival. Efforts at earlier diagnosis should be directed at indigent, especially minority women.

Compliance with and acute hematologic toxic effects of chemoradiation in indigent women with cervical cancer

OBJECTIVES

The goals of this work were to describe the compliance with and acute hematologic toxic effects of chemoradiation for cervical cancer in indigent women and to explore the likelihood that chemoradiation is effective outside research settings. We hypothesized that if compliance and toxicity are not limiting in this high-risk group of patients, the effectiveness of chemoradiation for cervical cancer in community settings is likely to mirror the efficacy demonstrated in clinical trials.

METHODS

This study is a retrospective review of prospectively maintained data on women with newly diagnosed cervical cancer treated with chemoradiation between August 1998 and August 2000. Cisplatin was given weekly at 40 mg/m(2) to a maximum of six courses. A WBC count <3000/mm(3) resulted in cancellation of cisplatin but not radiation, and patients were transfused for hemoglobin <9 g/dl. Statistical analysis was performed using the t test, chi(2) test, and Fisher's exact test.

RESULTS

In all, 19 of 65 patients treated (29.2%) missed at least one chemotherapy cycle, with 10 (15.4%) due to missed appointments, 8 (12.3%) due to a low WBC count, and 1 due to increased creatinine. Nineteen patients (29.2%) received RBC transfusion during chemoradiation, and two (3%) had platelets <75,000/mm(3). Noncompliant patients had a lower mean total point A dose (7986 cGy vs 8413 cGy, P = 0.04) and longer overall treatment duration (79 days vs 51 days, P < 0.001). No patient had a fatal hematologic complication.

CONCLUSION

Nearly a third of the indigent women treated with chemoradiation for cervical cancer do not complete the prescribed treatment, and a similar number require blood transfusions. In indigent and minority women, the effectiveness of chemoradiation protocols may not mirror the efficacy obtained in clinical trials.

Race and clinical outcome in patients with carcinoma of the uterine cervix treated with radiation therapy

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to examine factors underlying differences in outcome between African-American (AA) and Caucasian (C) patients undergoing radiation therapy (RT).

METHODS

Patient, tumor, treatment characteristics, and the outcome of 316 AA and 94 C cervical cancer patients who underwent RT were compared. Median follow-up was 72.4 months.

RESULTS

AA patients had a trend to a poorer 8-year cause-specific survival (47.9 vs 60.6%) (P = 0.10) compared to C patients with a significant difference seen in stage IIB-IVA disease (34.3 vs 59.5%) (P = 0.04). Several factors correlated with poor outcome were present in the AA group including lower mean hemoglobin levels during RT (P = 0.001), lower median income (P = 0.001), and less frequent intracavitary RT (P = 0.09). In addition, while uncommon in C patients, health problems were major reasons for treatment protraction and inability to undergo intracavitary RT in the AA patients. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that race was not an independent prognostic factor after controlling for difference in patient, tumor, and treatment factors.

CONCLUSIONS

AA cervical cancer patients possess multiple factors that adversely impact upon the efficacy of RT. These findings may add further insight into the observed differences in outcome of cervical cancer patients based on race.

The ecology of race and socioeconomic distress: Infant and working-age mortality in Chicago

We examine the effects of education, unemployment, and racial segregation on age-, sex-, and race-specific mortality rates in racially defined Chicago community areas from 1989 to 1991. Community socioeconomic factors account for large observed areal variations in infant and working-age mortality, but especially working-age mortality for the black population. For black men, the mortality consequences of living in economically distressed communities are quite severe. Segregation effects on mortality are more modest and largely operate through neighborhood socioeconomic conditions, although some direct effects of segregation on mortality for blacks are apparent.

The ecology of race and socioeconomic distress: infant and working-age mortality in Chicago

We examine the effects of education, unemployment, and racial segregation on age-, sex-, and race-specific mortality rates in racially defined Chicago community areas from 1989 to 1991. Community socioeconomic factors account for large observed areal variations in infant and working-age mortality, but especially working-age mortality for the black population. For black men, the mortality consequences of living in economically distressed communities are quite severe. Segregation effects on mortality are more modest and largely operate through neighborhood socioeconomic conditions, although some direct effects of segregation on mortality for blacks are apparent.

Risk factors for invasive cervical cancer in Latino women

Most invasive cervical cancer research in the United States has been conducted on non-Latino-White (NLW) and African-American women. Incidence, mortality, stage at diagnosis and survival indicators for invasive cervical cancer in Latino women in California are compared to NLW and African-American women. A model is presented which depicts structural, behavioral, genetic and biological risk factors for invasive cervical cancer. A literature review of risk factors and their association with invasive cervical cancer was conducted using MEDLINE and PsychINFO databases to determine if ethnic differences in risk factors explain observed differences in morbidity and mortality. Latino women experience a significantly higher incidence and mortality associated with invasive cervical cancer than NLW women. The review of risk factors found that rate differences of cervical cancer screening, early detection and human papilloma virus (HPV) type-specific infection explain much of the disparity in disease burden. Further research must clarify if ethnic differences exist in risk factors associated with ethnic variation in HPV-type prevalence in both cases and their sexual partners, in host immune responses, and multiparity.

Cost-effective policies for cervical cancer screening. An international review

Screening programmes for cervical cancer have been credited with reducing the incidence of and mortality from cervical cancer. The main components of these screening programmes are: (i) their level of organisation; (ii) the age at which women begin screening; (iii) the age at which women discontinue screening; (iv) the interval between repeat screens; (v) the frequency at which the programmes provide screening; and (vi) the response to an abnormal screening test. However, not all screening programmes are equally efficient and differences in programme components can result in big differences in their cost effectiveness. Studies that employ cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) to examine the efficiency of different programme components can inform the development of cost-effective programmes. This article presents findings of an international review of cost-effectiveness studies of cervical cancer screening. These studies consistently find that certain types of programmes are more cost effective than others. Programmes that are centrally organised and implemented by the public sector are reported to be more cost effective than those that use public funds for screening at other medical visits (convenience screening), or those that provide guidelines for healthcare professionals and the public to promote spontaneous discretionary screening. There is also substantial agreement about the cost effectiveness of other programme components. When multiple screenings are possible, studies report that they should generally begin at age 25 to 35 years and end at age 65 to 70 years, although it is important that older women have 3 normal Papanicolaou (Pap) smears before the discontinuation of screening. The interval for repeat screens that is reported to provide the best balance between cost and life-years saved is between 3 and 5 years. However, when a choice must be made between screening more women fewer times, or screening fewer women more times, most studies indicate that it is more cost effective to prioritize resources to obtain at least one screening for each woman. The screening of previously unscreened and high-risk populations has been shown to be especially cost effective. Despite this agreement, many studies report that models of the cost effectiveness of screening for cervical cancer are sensitive to a number of parameters. Changes in the attendance rate of the programme, the quality of the Pap smear, and the cost of the Pap smear can markedly change the cost effectiveness of a screening programme. Finally, this review discusses different perspectives of social choice analysis (e.g. CEA and cost-benefit analysis), when the objective is to prevent cervical cancer and the options are to screen, detect and treat, to reduce behavioural risk factors, and/or to pursue promising biological research.

Patterns of care for invasive cervical cancer. Results of a national survey of 1984 and 1990

BACKGROUND

The American College of Surgeons conducted a national patient care and evaluation study of invasive cervical cancer to measure any changes in patterns of care for the years 1984 and 1990.

METHODS

Hospitals with cancer programs were invited to submit data on up to 25 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed invasive cervical cancer for each of the two study years. Data were obtained from 684 hospitals on 5904 patients diagnosed in 1984 and from 700 hospitals on 5817 patients diagnosed in 1990. A long term study of patients diagnosed in 1984 was compared with a short term study of patients diagnosed in 1990. Survival data were described only for patients diagnosed in 1984.

RESULTS

Of a total of 11,721 patients, 59.4% were diagnosed and treated at the reporting institution in 1984 and 54.8% in 1990. The remaining patients were referred for treatment after diagnosis elsewhere. The diagnosis was established by cervical biopsy for 69.8% of patients, by conization alone for 9.3%, and by both procedures for 11.8%. The histopathologic diagnoses were squamous cell carcinoma (79.8%), adenocarcinoma (15.8%), and other (4.4%). The stage distributions were as follows: IA, 15.9%; IB, 36.8%; IIA, 8.2%; IIB, 15.5%; IIIA, 2.5%; IIIB, 13.3%; IVA, 2.6%; and IVB, 5.2%. The stage was listed as unknown for 20.3% of patients. Patients were treated with surgery alone (29.2%), radiation alone (40.7%), chemotherapy alone (0.7%), or combination therapy (21.5%), and 7.9% received no treatment at the reporting institution. The overall survival for patients diagnosed in 1984 was 68.3%. Survival by stage in this group was as follows: IA, 93.7%; IB, 80.0%; IIA, 67.2%; IIB, 64.7%; III, 37.9%; and IV, 11.3%.

CONCLUSIONS

These data indicate that invasive cervical cancer is highly curable when diagnosed early. During the 5-year period, stage distributions were similar, the use of extended hysterectomy increased, and gynecologic oncologists were more often the primary surgeons. The use of radiation alone decreased.