20.1. Summary

Cancer of the uterus is classified by ICD-10 into three sites—cancer of the cervix uteri (cervical cancer; discussed in this chapter), cancer of the corpus uteri (uterine cancer; see Chapter 19) and cancer of the uterus, part unspecified. “Part unspecified” cases make up less than 5% of all cancers of the uterus and are not considered in this atlas.

Cancer of the cervix uteri was the eighth most common cancer for women in Ireland, accounting for 2.8% of all malignant neoplasms, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer, in women (Table 20.1). The average number of new cases diagnosed each year was 289. During 1995-2007, there was an increase of 5% in the number of new cases diagnosed per year in RoI, while the numbers remained fairly constant in NI.

The risk of developing cervical cancer up to the age of 74 was 1 in 124 and was slightly higher in RoI than in NI. At the end of 2008, 2,484 women aged under 65 and 418 aged 65 and over were alive up to 15 years after their diagnosis.

Table 20.1 Summary information for cervical cancer in Ireland, 1995-2007

Cervical cancer was predominantly a disease of younger women (Figure 20.1). Almost 60% of new cases presented in those aged less than 50, and over three-quarters under 60. The pattern was similar in RoI and NI.

Figure 20.1 Age distribution of cases of cervical cancer in Ireland, 1995-2007