Rural-Urban Disparities Seen in Cervical Cancer
FRIDAY, March 7, 2025 -- The incidence of and mortality from cervical cancer are higher among rural-residing women versus their urban counterparts within the United States, according to a research letter published online March 3 in JAMA Network Open.
Trisha L. Amboree, Ph.D., M.P.H., from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, and colleagues used the National Program of Cancer Registries and Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results databases to investigate rural-urban disparities in cervical cancer incidence and mortality.
The researchers found that incidence increased by 0.85 percent per year in rural counties from 2012 to 2019 after decreasing from 2001 to 2012. However, the incidence plateaued in urban counties after decreasing during 2001 to 2013. From 2013 to 2019, the gap between rural and urban incidence rates widened (2013: rate ratio, 1.16; 2019: rate ratio, 1.25). Incidence increased among rural White women by 1.05 percent per year from 2012 to 2019. Incidence declined among rural Hispanic women, as well as among urban White and Black women. In rural areas, mortality was 1.42 times higher than in urban counties from 2015 to 2019. This finding persisted across races compared with their urban counterparts.
"If unaddressed, lower human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine uptake in rural areas may contribute to further widening disparities in the future," the authors write.
Two authors disclosed ties to Value Analytics Lab and/or Merck.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
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