article · Cureus
Late-stage cervical cancer presentation poses a severe burden across Sub-Saharan Africa, yet the influence of reproductive and sexual factors remains under-researched. A retrospective review evaluated records from 228 women diagnosed with cervical cancer at Lagos University Teaching Hospital between 2015 and 2019 to identify potential predictors. The vast majority of patients, specifically 82.9 per cent, presented at an advanced stage, primarily stages 2B and 3A. Among all evaluated reproductive and sexual characteristics, only menopausal status demonstrated a significant link to late presentation. Post-menopausal women had more than double the odds of presenting with advanced disease compared to pre-menopausal patients. Other factors, including pregnancy counts, parity, age at first sexual intercourse, number of sexual partners, polygamous marriage, and the specific age or duration of menopause, did not show statistically significant associations with late-stage diagnosis.
Cervical cancer outcomes depend heavily on the stage at which treatment begins. Identifying that post-menopausal women are disproportionately likely to present at advanced stages reveals a critical demographic gap. This insight enables healthcare providers and public health organisations to design targeted educational campaigns and screening initiatives explicitly tailored to reach older and post-menopausal women, potentially catching cases earlier and saving lives.
The abstract does not indicate a direct commercial application pathway, as it is an epidemiological observational study rather than a technology development project. However, public health agencies and healthcare service providers could use these findings to design targeted screening programmes and awareness campaigns aimed specifically at post-menopausal women in clinical and community settings.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
Background The impact of late-stage cervical cancer (CC) is huge in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa. Several factors have been attributed to this late-stage presentation but studies that examined the contributory role reproductive and sexual factors play in the late-stage CC presentation are uncommon. Objectives This study aimed to identify reproductive and sexual factors contributing to the late-stage presentation of CC in Lagos, Nigeria. Materials and methods Records of 228 women with CC who presented to Lagos University Teaching Hospital between 2015 and 2019 were retrospectively reviewed and information on their reproductive, sexual, and clinicopathological characteristics was obtained for analysis. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. Results Most (82.9%) of the women with CC presented with a late-stage disease with the majority presenting at stage 2B (28.9%) and stage 3A (20.2%) diseases. Among all the reproductive and sexual factors examined, only being post-menopausal was significantly associated with the increased likelihood of presenting with late-stage CC (crude odd ratio (COR)=2.26, confidence interval (CI)=1.13-4.55, p=0.020 and adjusted odd ratio (AOR)=2.15, CI=1.05-4.38, p=0.035). Age of menopause (AOR=2.08. CI=0.74-5.85, p=0.166) and duration of menopause (AOR=0.14, CI=0.16-1.30, p=0.143) were not significantly associated with late-stage CC presentation. Similarly, total pregnancies conceived (COR=1.32. CI=0.63-2.76, p=0.464), parity (AOR=1.68. CI=0.82-3.42, p=0.157), total children alive (COR=1.34. CI=0.67-2.68, p=0.413), presence of polygamous marriage (COR=1.52. CI=0.50-4.62, p=0.456), total lifetime sexual partners (COR=1.48. CI=0.66-3.31, p=0.342), age at coitarche (AOR=2.21. CI=0.68-7.12, p=0.186), and first delivery (AOR=2.71. CI=0.31-23.72, p=0.367) did not significantly influence late-stage CC presentation. Conclusion Menopausal status of the woman was the only reproductive and sexual factor that significantly predicted the likelihood of late-stage CC presentation with post-menopausal women having an increased risk of presenting with late-stage disease. There is a need for interventions to increase CC screening rates and improve health awareness and education about CC among post-menopausal women in Nigeria.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.81934
Is something wrong with this record? Report it or request removal.
Discussion
Have you built on this work, tried to replicate it, or seen it applied in practice? Share what you know. Verified researchers and MARATTO™ domain experts can open a discussion, and any member can reply. Contributions are reviewed before they appear.
No discussion yet. Open the first thread.
New to MARATTO™? Create a free account.
