ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2018 April;177(4):142-8

DOI: 10.23736/S0393-3660.17.03515-X

Copyright © 2017 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Characteristics of patients diagnosed with advanced cervical cancer in a major Brazilian city

Maysa SILVA RODOLFO ✉, Brunelle BATISTA FRAGA MENDES, Galeno ARRABAL FERNANDES GUARÇONI FILHO, Antônio CHAMBÔ FILHO

Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Vitória Hospital, Vitória, Brazil

BACKGROUND: A large number of women with cervical cancer seek medical help only when the disease is symptomatic, hence already at an advanced stage. This reduces the likelihood of the woman requiring less invasive treatment and of being cured, since prognosis is poorer as cervical cancer advances. The objective of this study was to investigate the reasons behind the high prevalence of cervical cancer diagnosed at advanced stages in patients followed up at the Gynecologic Oncology Division, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics of the Santa Casa de Misericórdia Hospital in Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil.
METHODS: This descriptive, observational, cross-sectional study evaluated patients with cervical cancer whose clinical stage was advanced at the time of diagnosis. All patients included had been submitted to cervical biopsy in this same institute between January 2014 and November 2015.
RESULTS: The sample consisted predominantly of multiparous women, most of them with poor education levels and no steady partner. Of the 80 cases evaluated, 52 women (65%) had undergone cervical cancer screening but the results were unavailable. Five patients (6.2%) had never undergone cervical cancer screening. The most common initial clinical stage was IIB.
CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the need to develop preventive measures, to improve access to healthcare and to promote education in health, bearing in mind the substantial number of women diagnosed with cervical cancer at advanced stages of the disease.

KEY WORDS: Neoplasms - Cervix uteri - Delayed diagnosis