Ethnic Disparity in Cervical Cancer Stage at Diagnosis at a Tertiary Medical Center in Northern Israel: A Retrospective Study.

BACKGROUND

Differences in socioeconomic status and ethnicity are linked to disparities in health outcomes, which can affect how consistently patients treat abnormal screening results and cause minority groups to be diagnosed at more advanced stages of disease.

OBJECTIVES

To compare epidemiological and clinical parameters between Jewish and Arab women who were diagnosed with cervical cancer at Ziv Medical Center during a 10-year period.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective study of consecutive women diagnosed with cervical cancer at a single institution between 2014 and 2024.

RESULTS

Overall, 83 women diagnosed with cervical cancer in the last 10 years at Ziv Medical Center were included in the study: 53 Jewish (64.6%), 30 Arab (36.2%). The groups were similar in mean age at diagnosis, body mass index, smoking status, Pap history performance prior to the diagnosis, menopause status at diagnosis, stage at diagnosis, and treatment. Arab women had higher parity (< 0.001). According to the results of our study, the percentage of cervical cancer patients undergoing Pap screening, prior to diagnosis from the Arab and Jewish sectors, were 16.7% and 17%, respectively, compared to the national screening rate of 54%. Most of the women were diagnosed at an advanced stage (≥ IIB): 83.3% and 69.8%, respectively, compared to 25% in developed countries.

CONCLUSIONS

Jewish and Arab women diagnosed with cervical cancer in northern Israel do not differ in epidemiological and clinical parameters, including age at diagnosis and stage. These findings may be attributed to the low performance rate of Pap screening tests in both groups.