Nativity and Neighborhood Characteristics and Cervical Cancer Stage at Diagnosis and Survival Outcomes Among Hispanic Women in California

Abstract

Objectives. We examined stage of diagnosis and survival after cervical cancer among Hispanic women, and their associations with Hispanic nativity, and explored whether neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) and residence in a Hispanic enclave modify the association of nativity with stage and survival.

Methods. We used California Cancer Registry data (1994–2009) to identify 7958 Hispanic women aged 21 years and older with invasive cervical cancer. We used logistic and Cox proportional hazards models to estimate the associations between stage and mortality with nativity, neighborhood factors, and other covariates.

Results. Foreign-born women had similar adjusted relative odds of being diagnosed with stages II through IV (vs stage I) cervical cancer compared with US-born Hispanic women. However, among foreign-born women, those in low-SES–low-enclave neighborhoods were more likely to have late-stage disease than those in high-SES–low-enclave neighborhoods (adjusted odds ratio = 1.91; 95% confidence interval = 1.18, 3.07). Foreign-born women had lower cervical cancer mortality (adjusted hazard ratio = 0.67; 95% confidence interval = 0.58, 0.76) than US-born women, but only in high enclaves.

Conclusions. Among Hispanic women, nativity, neighborhood enclaves, and SES interact in their influence on stage and survival of cervical cancer.