Cervical Cancer Rates by Race and Ethnicity

Recent trends suggest that cervical cancer incidence and mortality among women in some racial and ethnic populations in the United States continue to decrease significantly; however, rates are considerably higher among Hispanic and African-American women.¹

Rate of Cervical Cancer by Race and Ethnicity

"Incidence rate" means how many women out of a given number get the disease each year. In the United States, the following numbers of women were told that they had cervical cancer in 2005, the most recent year for which data are available—

• 11,999 women overall.
• 9,369 white women.
• 1,973 Hispanic women.
• 1,794 African-American women.
• 501 Asian/Pacific Islander women.
• 85 American Indian/Alaska Native women.

The graph below shows how many women out of 100,000 got cervical cancer each year during the years 1975–2005. The cervical cancer incidence rate is grouped by race and ethnicity.

Cervical Cancer SEER Incidence Rates* by Race and Ethnicity, U.S., 1975–2005

Incidence source: Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, National Cancer Institute (NCI) 1975–1991 = SEER 9; 1992–2005 = SEER 13.
*Rates are per 100,000 and are age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population (19 age groups - Census P25-1130).
Rates for American Indians/Alaska Natives are not displayed because fewer than 16 cases were reported for at least one year within the time interval.
‡Hispanics are not mutually exclusive from whites, blacks, Asians/Pacific Islanders, and American Indians/Alaska Natives. Incidence data for Hispanics are based on NHIA and exclude cases from the Alaska Native Registry.

Deaths from Cervical Cancer by Race and Ethnicity

From 1975–2005, the cervical cancer death rate in the U.S. varied by race and ethnicity. The following numbers of U.S. women died from cervical cancer in 2005, the most recent year for which data are available—

• 3,924 women overall.
• 2,982 white women.
• 783 African-American women.
• 447 Hispanic women.
• 125 Asian/Pacific Islander women.
• 34 American Indian/Alaska Native women.

The graph below shows the death rates in the U.S. for cervical cancer from 1975–2005 by race and ethnicity.

Cervical Cancer U.S. Death Rates* by Race and Ethnicity, U.S., 1975–2005

Mortality source: U.S. Mortality Files, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC.
*Rates are per 100,000 and are age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population (19 age groups - Census P25-1130).
Rates for American Indians/Alaska Natives are not displayed because fewer than 16 cases were reported for at least one year within the time interval.
‡Hispanics are not mutually exclusive from whites, blacks, Asians/Pacific Islanders, and American Indians/Alaska Natives. Mortality data for Hispanics do not include cases from Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Vermont.

Reference

¹U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group. United States Cancer Statistics: 1999–2005 Incidence and Mortality Web-based Report. Atlanta (GA): Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Cancer Institute; 2009. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/uscs.