Where are we today with cervical cancer in Australia

摘要

Cervical screening has had a significant impact on the incidence and mortality of cervical cancer in developed regions of the world, particularly where organised screening programs have been implemented. In Australia, the National Cervical Screening Program was established in 1991. The two-year participation rate for Australian women in 2004-2005 was estimated to be 61% and has been relatively constant over the last decade. Australia currently has the lowest mortality rate (1.9 women per 100,000) and second lowest incidence rate (9.1 women per 100,000) from cervical cancer in the world. However, this largely represents a reduction in incidence of squamous cell carcinomas, which are more readily preventable by screening than adenocarcinomas. The incidence of cervical cancer plateaus after the age of 35 years and increases again for older women (11.6 women per 100,000 age 75 years and over). The mortality from cervical cancer for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women is more than four times that of non-Indigenous women. The National Cervical Screening Program has been highly successful in reducing both incidence and mortality from cervical cancer in Australia, however inequities in the burden of disease exist, particularly for Indigenous women.