Objective: The existence of an aggressive form of cervical carcinoma affecting young women is studied by survival analysis of a large patient population.
Method: Between 1969 and 1986, 1577 cases of cervical cancer were treated according to well-defined policies at the University Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Debrecen, Hungary. Patients' records were reviewed to obtain data for survival analysis. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were generated for each stage and stratified for age. The log-rank test was used to compare the survival of younger and older patients at each stage. Multivariate analysis was performed to control for stage and treatment type when 5-year survival trends across four different age groups were examined.
Results: Comparison of survival of patients under 35 and over 35 years of age, and also those under 40 and over 40 years of age revealed no significant differences. Five-year survival across the < 30, 30-39, 40-49 and > or = 50 years age groups showed no significant trend. No differences in survival were revealed when the comparison was controlled for stage of disease and treatment type.
Conclusion: Results suggest that cervical carcinoma in young women is not more aggressive than in other age groups.