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Although the overall rate of cervical cancer in the United States has decreased steadily, certain demographic groups are still at a higher risk of developing the disease. A recent study examined over 59,800 women of different races, ethnicities, and from different geographic areas of the United States. This study was conducted over 4 years.
The results of the research revealed a 17% reduction in the overall number of cervical cancer cases in the participants. However, the study also found that the patients of Hispanic and African-American origins had more incidences of cervical cancer than Caucasian women. Additionally, women living in the southern region of the United States had more cases of squamous cell carcinoma than all the study participants living in other areas of the country.
Researchers believe that the reasons for the higher cancer rates in these demographic populations involve lack of cancer education, prevention, and screening methods. Encouraging these women to protect themselves from contracting human papillomavirus (HPV) by waiting until they are older to start having sex, using condoms, and having fewer sexual partners can also reduce risk. HPV is believed to be the cause of 70% of all cervical cancers. Using these means of prevention, in addition to women receiving the newly FDA-approved HPV vaccine, can help lower cancer incidences in these populations.