Association of insurance status and age with cervical cancer stage at diagnosis: National cancer database, 2000-2007

Objectives. We examined the relationship of age at diagnosis and insurance status with stage among cervical cancer patients aged 21 to 85 years. Methods. We selected data on women (n = 69 739) diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer between 2000 and 2007 from the National Cancer Database. We evaluated the association between late stage (stage III/IV) and both insurance and age, with adjustment for race/ethnicity and other sociodemographic and clinical factors. We used multivariable log binomial models to estimate risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results. The proportion of late-stage disease increased with age: from 16.53% (21-34 years) to 42.44% (± 70 years). The adjusted relative risk of advanced-stage disease among women aged 50 years and older was 2.2 to 2.5 times that of patients aged 21 to 34 years. Uninsured (RR = 1.44;95% CI = 1.40, 1.49), Medicaid (RR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.34, 1.41), younger Medicare (RR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.06, 1.19), and older Medicare (RR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.15, 1.26) patients had a higher risk of late-stage disease than did privately insured patients. Conclusions. Screening should be encouraged for women at high risk for advanced-stage disease.