Analysis of socio-demographic and clinical-morphological characteristics of recurrent and metastatic cervical cancer

Background: Cervical cancer (CC) remains one of the most common malignant tumors of the female reproductive system, especially in developing countries, where the disease is often diagnosed at late stages.

Objective: Analysis of the socio-demographic and clinical-morphological characteristics of patients with recurrent and metastatic cervical cancer.

Materials and methods: This study analyzed the sociodemographic, clinical, morphological, and reproductive characteristics of 756 patients with recurrent and metastatic cervical cancer treated at the St. Petersburg City Clinical Oncology Dispensary from 2020 to 2024. The study focused on 216 randomly selected case histories.

Results: The mean patient age was 48 years, with the majority (76.72%) over 40 years of age. Women with established reproductive function (77.5% had two or more pregnancies) and a history of abortions (63.75%) were predominant. Most patients (67.5%) were unemployed, and among those who were employed, highly skilled workers predominated (17.5%). A significant factor in late diagnosis was the lack of regular gynecological examinations: 41.25% of patients had no record of their last gynecological visit, and 23.75% had not seen a doctor for more than 1–5 years. In 48.75% of cases, the disease was diagnosed at stage IIIB, and the predominant histological type was squamous cell carcinoma (88.75%).

Conclusion: The study identified the need to strengthen screening programs, including HPV testing and cytological examination, as well as to increase women’s awareness of the importance of regular gynecological examinations. These measures can facilitate early diagnosis and reduce the incidence of advanced forms of cervical cancer.