Late Stage Cervical Cancer among Confirmed Cervical Cancer Cases in a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

INTRODUCTION: Cervical cancer is the leading gynaecological cancer in Nepal. Most of the time, it is diagnosed in the late stage with its associated morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to find out the prevalence of late-stage presentation of cervical cancer among confirmed cases of cervical cancer in a tertiary care centre. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care centre of Nepal from March 2021 to May 2021 after obtaining ethical clearance from the Institutional Review Board (Reference no.805). A convenient sampling method was used. A descriptive analysis was done of all cases of cervical cancer who were diagnosed within the last 36 months and attended hospital during the study period. The information was collected by interview and hospital record was checked. Analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20. Point estimate at 95% Confidence Interval was calculated along with frequency and proportion for binary data. RESULTS: Among the 142 confirmed cervical cancer cases, the prevalence of late-stage presentation of cervical cancer was 93 (65.5%) (57.7-73.3 at 95% Confidence Interval). The mean age at diagnosis was 50.6±10.9 years. More than two-thirds of the women were from outside Kathmandu valley 102 (71.8%) and came from >50km distance. The majority of the women 83 (58.5%) were illiterate. CONCLUSIONS: The study showed that two-thirds of the women presented in advanced stage and the factors leading to the late stage. This highlights the fact, that the focus should be on the provision of organized screening programs and early diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer.