[High mortality for cervical cancer in young women from the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires]. / Elevada mortalidad por cáncer cérvico-uterino en mujeres jóvenes del área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires.

ABSTRACT

The cervical cancer, which is a reliable indicator of social inequality, remains a major public health issue in Argentina. It is generally accepted that its frequency among young women is low, being the most exposed those over 35 years old. Nevertheless, as gynecologic oncologists, we have been accompanying young patients to their death, mostly women with neither access to screening strategies nor timely or suitable treatment. Such a situation motivated the present analysis of our data on frequency, survival, and demography of cervical cancer collected at the referral cancer hospital of Buenos Aires City. Of 748 cases retrospectively assessed (2007-2011), 84.0% (n = 627) resided in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires; 76.9% (n = 576) were admitted at a locoregionally advanced stage. Regarding tumor size, 53.6% (n = 401) had tumors > 4 cm diameter and 24.2% (n = 181) > 6 cm. The lowest rates of disease-free survival and cause-specific survival were observed for tumor sizes > 6 cm and the age subgroup < 35 years old. Both tumor size and age retained their prognostic value after multivariate analysis adjustment. When focusing in patients under 35 years old, 48% (n = 70) died within 5 years following diagnosis and their probability of surviving 5 years more was < 50%. These figures raise a public health alert on young women with cervical cancer living in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires, which concentrates almost one third of the country population.