Recent trends in the epidemiology of cervical neoplasia

Incidence and survival rates were estimated for all white and black women in metropolitan Atlanta with a new diagnosis of in situ or invasive cervical carcinoma between 1975 and 1986. During this period, the average annual age-adjusted incidence (per 100,000) of in situ lesions declined from 51.4 to 25.6 among whites and from 102.2 to 34.6 among blacks. The average annual age-adjusted incidence rate of invasive cervical cancer decreased from 11.8 to 8.2 for whites and from 33.0 to 26.7 for blacks. Although the black-to-white ratio of carcinoma in situ incidence rates declined progressively over time, the excess of invasive cancer among blacks did not decrease. The five-year cumulative survival percentages by stage for whites and blacks, respectively, were 99.1 and 99.1 for in situ carcinoma, 92.2 and 80.5 for locally invasive carcinoma, 49.2 and 40.5 for regionally invasive carcinoma and 3.1 and 3.4 for cases with distant metastases. No improvement in stage at diagnosis of invasive cancer or stage-specific survival rates were observed during this period.