Successful early detection and treatment have contributed to a
decline in the incidence of cervical cancer, but there is still
room for improvement, particularly for younger and Indigenous
women, according to a report released today by the Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
Cervical Screening in Australia 2002-2003, the seventh
annual report on the National Cervical Screening Program, found
that 3,382,825 women (60.7% of those eligible) were screened in
Australia for pre-cancerous changes from January 2002 to December
2003.
Across all age groups there were 735 new cases of cervical
cancer detected in Australia in 2001, a sharp decline from 1,089 in
1991 when organised screening started.
During this same period the number of deaths also declined from
329 to 262.
Cervical cancer is now the 18th most common cause of cancer
death in women.
Successful early treatment of high-grade abnormalities has
contributed to the decline, with the incidence of cervical cancer
among women in the screening target age range (20-69 years) falling
from 17.1 per 100,000 in 1991 to 9.5 per 100,000 in 2001.
'It was pleasing to see there were improvements in the screening
participation rates for older women (45-69 years). Screening is
particularly important for them because they experience a
relatively higher incidence of cervical cancer than younger
women.
'Unfortunately, there was a decline in participation among
younger women (20-44 years),' Ms Markey said.
While there is room for improvement in overall screening
participation, this is particularly important for Indigenous women
who experience higher incidence of cervical cancer than other
Australian women in Queensland, Northern Territory, Western
Australia and South Australia (the only jurisdictions for which
adequate data were available).
Cervical cancer was also responsible for mortality rates in
Indigenous women that were almost five times higher than that for
other Australian women.
25 November 2005
Further information:Ms Janet
Markey, AIHW, tel. 02 6244 1053, or Mob. 0407 915 851
Chris Stevenson, AIHW, tel. 02 6244 1041
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, AIHW, tel 61 2 6244 1032.
Availability: Check the AIHW Publications
Catalogue for availability of the Cervical Screening in
Australia 2002-2003 report.