Increasing risk of uterine cervical cancer among young Japanese women: Comparison of incidence trends in Japan, South Korea and Japanese‐Americans between 1985 and 2012

Journal Article · Tue Dec 18 00:00:00 EST 2018 · International Journal of Cancer

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.32014· OSTI ID:1493467

Utada, Mai ^[1]; Chernyavskiy, Pavel ^[2]; Lee, Won Jin ^[3]; Franceschi, Silvia ^[4]; Sauvaget, Catherine ^[5]; de Gonzalez, Amy Berrington ^[6]; Withrow, Diana R. ^[6]

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1. Department of Epidemiology Radiation Effects Research Foundation Hiroshima Japan
2. Radiation Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health Rockville MD USA, Department of Mathematics and Statistics University of Wyoming Laramie WY USA
3. Department of Preventive Medicine Korea University College of Medicine Seoul South Korea
4. IRCCS CRO National Cancer Institute Aviano Italy
5. Screening Group, Section of Early Detection and Prevention, International Agency for Research on Cancer Lyon France
6. Radiation Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health Rockville MD USA

In Japan, cervical cancer incidence has increased since the late 1990s especially among young women, despite a decreasing trend in most developed countries. Here, we examined age, period and birth cohort trends in cervical cancer incidence rates from 1985 to 2012. Incidence rates were ascertained using three population‐based cancer registries and analyzed using Joinpoint regression and age‐period‐cohort models. We compared the findings in Japan to trends among Japanese‐Americans in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Registries and among women in South Korea using the Korea Central Registry. Age‐standardized incidence rates in Japan decreased by 1.7% per year (95% confidence interval − 3.3%, 0.0%) until 1997 and thereafter increased by 2.6% per year (1.1%, 4.2%). Incidence rates increased among women under age 50, were stable among women aged 50–54, and decreased or remained stable among women aged 55 and over. The age‐standardized incidence rate ratio by birth cohort showed a U‐shaped pattern with the lowest rates in women born in the late 1930s and 1940s. In comparison, women born before 1920 and after 1970 had about double the incidence. Increasing risk in recent birth cohorts was not evident in Japanese‐American or South Korean women. The trends in Japan may be attributable to increasing prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection among young women. Screening and vaccination have been shown to be highly effective and would help reverse these trends.

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• OSTI ID: 1493467
• Journal Information: International Journal of Cancer, Journal Name: International Journal of Cancer Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 144; ISSN 0020-7136
• Publisher: Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English