Lack of Impact of Race Alone on Cervical Cancer Survival in Brazil

Nogueira-Rodrigues, Angelica; Melo, Andreia Cristina De; Alves, Flávia Vieira Guerra; Vilaça, Mariana Do Nascimento; Silva, Laisa Gabrielle; Silva, Cristiane Alves; Fabrini, Juliana Chaves; Carneiro, Anderson Thiago Vieira; Thuler, Luiz Claudio Santos

doi:10.22034/APJCP.2018.19.5.1209

Lack of Impact of Race Alone on Cervical Cancer Survival in Brazil

Document Type : Research Articles

Authors

¹ Faculdade de Medicina da UFMG. Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

² Divisão de Ensaios Clínicos e Desenvolvimento de Fármacos, Instituto Nacional de Câncer (INCA). Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

³ Departamento de pesquisa clínica do Instituto Nacional de Câncer (INCA), Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

⁴ Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Itaúna. Itaúna, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

10.22034/APJCP.2018.19.5.1209

Abstract

Objective: To analyze differences in survival between black and non-black women diagnosed with cervical cancer
and treated at the National Cancer Institute in Brazil. Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted using
medical records of patients who were treated for cervical cancer between 2006 and 2009 at the Brazilian National Cancer
Institute - Rio de Janeiro - Brazil. The clinical and epidemiological characteristics of black and non-black patients were
compared using the chi-square test. Survival functions over five years were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier estimator
and compared using the log-rank test. Associations between race and mortality risk were analyzed using the Cox
proportional hazards model. P-values women, of whom 188 (12.7%) were black, 1,209 (81.6%) were non-black and 85 (5.7%) were of unspecified race.
The age at diagnosis of the patients ranged from 19 to 84 years (mean 50.1 years; SD±13.2). Hemoglobin at the time of diagnosis (p=0.008) and absence of surgery as primary treatment (p = 0.005) were more frequent
among black women. Cox analysis adjusted for these two factors showed no statistically significant difference in the
mortality risk associated with cervical cancer among black and non-black women (HR=1.1 95% CI 0.9-1.5; p=0.27).
Conclusion: After adjusting for hemoglobin levels and surgery, race alone was not shown to be a prognostic factor
for patients with cervical cancer.

Keywords

Main Subjects