“Despite evidence that cervical cancer screening saves lives, the incidence and death rates from cervical cancer remain substantial, especially among populations with limited access to care,” wrote researchers led by Vicki B. Benard, PhD, in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on November 5. “Over half of all new cases occur in women who have never or rarely been screened.”
The new report comes from the 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey, and analyzed cervical cancer incidence and death rates for 2007 to 2011 combined, and 2011 alone. The 2012 survey was administered to a total of 133,851 women aged 21 to 65 years, representing a population of more than 70 million women in the United States.
The survey suggests that about 11.4% of those women have not been screened for cervical cancer within the past 5 years. More women had not been screened among the 23 to 29 years age group (13.4%) and among those aged 60 to 65 years (12.6%). Asians/Pacific islanders also had high rates of unscreened women (19.7%), as did American Indians/Alaska Natives (16.5%).