Abstract
Risk‐factor profiles were compared in M. D. Anderson Cancer Center patients with various uterine cervix histologic diagnoses. Intraepithelial neoplasia (n = 171) and condyloma (n = 82) were associated with significantly lower patient age (mean 23.6 and 25.8 years, respectively). In addition, these two groups were lowest in annual income, age at beginning intercourse and at first pregnancy, and highest in percentages of black and Hispanic patients, number of sexual partners, and history of gonorrhea. Women with squamous carcinoma in situ (n = 47), who were about a decade older, exhibited a similar socioeconomic distribution and sexual history. All three groups also reported high prevalences of current smokers, were most likely to use oral contraceptives, and were least likely to use diaphragms or condoms. Patients with invasive squamous cell carcinoma (n = 77) had a mean age of 46.3 years, a large lowest‐income constituency, and the highest mean number of pregnancies; they were least likely to have used oral contraceptives. Adenocarcinoma (n = 21) was epidemiologically distinct: a predominance of white women characterized by high socioeconomic status, elevated body mass index, and none of the liberal sexual practices of the other groups. Primary and secondary prevention strategies must be tailored to the unique needs and socioeconomic status of the young at‐risk populations.
Notes
Department of Cancer Prevention and Control, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston.
De‐partment of Gynecology, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston.