Epidemiology of cancer of the uterine cervix in Costa Rica, 1980-1983.

A study was made of all cervical cancer cases that were entered in Costa Rica's National Register of Tumors for the period 1980-1983. The country's average rates of invasive and in situ cervical cancers in these years were 33.6 and 36.3 cases per 100,000 women, respectively. The incidence of invasive cases varied notably in different geographic regions. The approximate cumulative risk of developing invasive cervical cancer by age 74 was 6.3% for women in certain very high risk areas as compared to 1.4% for those in certain low risk areas. Most of the very high risk areas were relatively inaccessible regions located far from the capital city of San José. These findings suggest that the regional differences in the incidence of invasive cervical cancer resulted from better early detection of cervical cancers and precancerous states in the areas of lower risk. More extensive epidemiologic studies will be needed in order to determine the proper weight to assign such factors as race, promiscuity, socioeconomic level, and customs in the incidence and behavior of this cancer in Costa Rica.