Survival of cervical cancer patients in Germany in the early 21st century: A period analysis by age, histology, and stage

Abstract

Purpose. Population-based studies on cervical cancer providing survival estimates by age, histology, and stage have been sparse. We aimed to derive most up-to-date and detailed survival estimates for cervical cancer patients in Germany. Methods. We used a pooled German national dataset including data from 11 cancer registries covering a population of 33 million people. Included were 15 685 patients diagnosed with cervical cancer from 1997 to 2006. Period analysis was performed to calculate the five-year relative survival (RS) 2002–2006. Trends in survival between 2002 and 2006 were examined using model-based period analysis. Age-adjustment was done using five age groups (15–44, 45–54, 55–64, 65–74, and 75 + years). Results. Overall, age-adjusted five-year relative survival in 2002–2006 was 64.7%. A strong age gradient was observed, with five-year RS decreasing from 81.7% in age group 15–49 years to 46.3% in age group 70 + years. Prognosis furthermore strongly varied by stage, with age-adjusted five-year RS reaching 84.6% for localized, 48.2% for regional, and 17.9% for distant stage. From 2002 to 2006, a significant improvement (4.7 percent units) in overall age-adjusted five-year RS was seen. The improvement was most pronounced for age groups 55–64 years (from 54.2 to 65.6%) and 65–74 years (from 50.0 to 58.1%). Conclusion. In this first comprehensive population-based study from Germany, prognosis of cervical cancer strongly varied by age and stage. Prognosis continued to improve, in particular in age range 55–74 years, in the five-year period assessed.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Members of the GEKID Cancer Survival Working Group: Karla Geiss, Martin Meyer (Cancer Registry of Bavaria), Andrea Eberle, Sabine Luttmann (Cancer Registry of Bremen), Roland Stabenow (Cancer Registry of Berlin and the New Federal States), Stefan Hentschel, Alice Nennecke (Hamburg Cancer Registry), Joachim Kieschke, Eunice Sirri (Cancer Registry of Lower Saxony), Bernd Holleczek (Saarland Cancer Registry), Katharina Emrich (Cancer Registry of Rhineland-Palatinate), Hiltraud Kajüter, Volkmar Mattauch (Cancer Registry of North Rhine-Westphalia), Alexander Katalinic (Cancer Registry of Schleswig-Holstein), Klaus Kraywinkel (Robert Koch Institute, Berlin), Hermann Brenner, Lina Jansen, Adam Gondos (DKFZ). This study was funded by German Cancer Aid (Deutsche Krebshilfe), grant no. 108257. The sponsor had no role in the study design, collection, analysis, or interpretation of data.