Abstract C019: Two-decade cervical cancer burden in Houston Methodist Neal Cancer Center catchment area

Abstract Introduction and study purpose: Cervical cancer burden in the Houston Methodist Neal Cancer Center catchment area (HMNCC-CA) is concerning. In the state of Texas, only 46.9% of women ages 25 – 44 reported receiving cervical cancer screening consistent with the guidelines, ranking Texas at 44th in the nation. Hispanic residents make up one-third of the HMNCC-CA population, with Hispanic women having the highest incidence rates. To address this, we examined 20+ year longitudinal patterns of cervical cancer incidence and mortality in our CA to identify the populations and geographic regions that are in greatest need of targeted cancer prevention and control (CPC) interventions. Methodology: The NCI’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was used to examine longitudinal trends in cervical cancer burden, one of the HMNCC’s priority cancers. Joinpoint regression was used to compute the age-adjusted, average annual percentage change (AAPC) for incidence and mortality from 2000-2022, using Joinpoint. Trends were compared across three regions: (i) HMNCC 8 county catchment area (HMNCC-CA), (ii) the state of Texas, and (iii) the U.S. Our 8-county CA comprised of Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, Harris, Jefferson, Liberty and Montgomery Counties. We further analyzed trends by race/ethnicity in our CA using the Texas Cancer Registry (TCR) data. Results: When comparing three regions, both incidence and mortality observed significant decreasing rate-trends, for 2000 – 2022. The rates are elevated in the state of TX and our catchment area (CA), for incidence about 20% higher and for mortality about 15% higher. For incidence, the AAPCs for HMNCC-CA -0.92% (95% CI: -1.42% to -0.38%), for Texas -0.93% (95% CI: -1.20% to -0.64%) and for US -1.28% (95% CI: -1.50% to -1.02%). For mortality, the AAPCs for HMNCC-CA -1.31% (95% CI: -2.21% to -0.41%), for Texas -1.01% (95% CI: -1.48% to -0.51%) and for US -1.14% (95% CI: -1.30% to -0.97%). When comparing race and ethnicity trends in our CA, Hispanic women have the highest incidence rates, 20% more than non-Hispanic White women. For mortality, non-Hispanic Black women have the highest mortality rates, nearly double the rates of non-Hispanic White women. Conclusions: These findings indicate that there are significant racial disparities for cervical cancer in our catchment area (CA), especially for Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black women. Given the projections for increased growth of Hispanic and Asian populations over the next decade in our CA, it will be important to anticipate and prepare for the increased cancer burden and identify the likely risk factors. As a future direction, we are building a cancer “exposome” linking cancer rates at the census tract level with socio-economic, environmental, climate and cancer risk factors (e.g. obesity) to inform CPC-COE initiatives for our most medically vulnerable communities in our region. Citation Format: Anil Kumar Vadathya, Catherine Wu, Nestor Esnaola, Dimpy Shah, Hung Luu, Arica Brandford, Jennifer Cullen. Two-decade cervical cancer burden in Houston Methodist Neal Cancer Center catchment area abstract. In: Proceedings of the 18th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities; 2025 Sep 18-21; Baltimore, MD. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2025;34(9 Suppl):Abstract nr C019.