Effect of Stage and Histology on the Treatment Outcomes of Cervical Cancer

Cervical cancer which affects a female reproductive organ is one of the most common cancers. There are an estimated 16,000 new cases of invasive cancer of the cervix and 5,000 deaths as a result of this disease, in the United States each year. The prognosis for this disease is markedly affected by the existence of disease at the time of diagnosis. Among the major factors which influence prognosis are the stages, grade of tumor and histology type. This study examined the effects of surgical vs. radiotherapy treatments on the mortality of cervical cancer patients, stratified by histology and cancer stages. Data used was obtained from the Florida Cancer Registry between January 1994 and December 2002; a total of 6,107 women diagnosed with Cervical Cancer in the state of Florida were included in the analyzed data set. The study was a routine database analysis; analogous in design to a cross-sectional study. The main association in the study shows that patients who underwent Radiotherapy (RT) alone were 11.8 times more likely to die than those who underwent Surgery (SR) alone. Stage and histology were both found to be significant third factors with P-value < .0001 which showed a significant association for the used Mantel-Haenszel methodology. The stratified analysis showed that histology was not found to be either an effect modifier or a confounder; but was determined as a risk factor; stage was found to be an effect modifier. Patients with local stage cervical cancer and different histology types were 9 times more likely to die with RT alone then those with regional stage cervical cancer and different histology types. This study established that cancer stage is an effect modifier of the main association of mortality and treatment. Patient who incurred RT are less likely to survive than those who underwent SR alone.