Spatial and temporal trends of cervical cancer, Uganda, 2012-2021: A descriptive analysis of surveillance data
Introduction: Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women in Uganda. The Uganda Ministry of Health (MoH) has adopted a number of strategies to address the burden of cervical cancer, including cervical cancer screening in public health facilities. However, the impact...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
African Field Epidemiology Network
2024-07-01
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| Series: | Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.afenet-journal.net/content/article/7/28/full/ |
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| Summary: | Introduction: Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among
women in Uganda. The Uganda Ministry of Health (MoH) has adopted a number of
strategies to address the burden of cervical cancer, including cervical cancer screening
in public health facilities. However, the impact of these interventions on cervical cancer
incidence is not documented. We described the spatial and temporal trends of cervical
cancer screening and incidence among women attending health facilities in Uganda
from 2017 to 2021. Methods: We extracted surveillance data for screening and
incident cervical cancer cases per month during 2017-2021 by district, region and
country. We calculated the screening and incidence rate by district, region and country
level using the Uganda Bureau of Statistics population projections of total female
population aged 15+ years as the denominator. We calculated significance of the
trends over time using logistic regression. Results: A total of 439,230 women were
screened for cervical cancer from 2017 to 2021. The highest screening rate was in 2020
(1,420/100,000) and the lowest was in 2017 (18/100,000). There was a 2.4% increase
in the screening rate from 2017 to 2021. Nationwide, 7,073 newly diagnosed cervical
cancer cases were observed from 2017 to 2021.The peak incidence of cervical cancer
was 1,978 (18/100,000) in 2017 and the lowest incidence was 1,143 (5/100,000) in
2021. There was an overall 3% decrease in incidence of cervical cancer from
18/100,000 in 2017 to 5/100,000 in 2021 (p<0.001). Regionally, there was a significant
decrease in the incidence of cervical cancer over the years. Northern Uganda had the
least decline of 9%. Eastern Uganda had the biggest decrease of 25% over the years.
Conclusion: Despite the significant increase in cervical cancer screening, fewer cases
of cervical cancer was registered in Uganda over the years. Only Northern Uganda had
an increase in incidence of cervical cancer over the years. We recommend expansion
of screening to cover all eligible female populations and strengthening of strategies to
sustain the decline in cervical cancer cases. Further investigations are needed to
understand the reasons for the increasing incidence in Northern Uganda.
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| ISSN: | 2664-2824 |