AGE, PARITY AND STAGE OF CERVICAL CANCER AMONG CERVICAL CANCER PATIENTS ATTENDING ONCOLOGY DEPARTMENT AN OBSERVATIONAL CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY AT JINNAH POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL CENTER, KARACHI

Background: Identification of disease patterns in context of basic social demographic characteristics among cervical cancer patients in the local population or Pakistani women is of high importance to identify the women at high risk of disease. Objective: To determine the age, parity and stage of cervical cancer among cervical cancer patients attending oncology department at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, Karachi. Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted in the Oncology Department of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, Karachi during October 2023 to January 2024. In total 92 women of age 18 years or above, presenting with biopsy proven cervical cancer were recruited using random convenient sampling technique. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 24. Results: The mean age of study participants was 53.4 years + SD10.9 years. The highest proportion of cases were recorded between 47-57 years of age with a proportion of 37.0% (n=34). 62% (n=57) of all study participants had a history of multiparty with at least five or more children. 65% (n=60) of all the study participants were postmenopausal women. 59.8% (n=55) of all the study participants were found to have Stage-II and Stage-III disease at the time of diagnosis while Squamous Cell Carcinoma was the most frequent histopathological diagnosis type. Conclusion: The highest burden of cervical cancer is present among the women of age group 47 to 57 years. Cervical cancer was most prevalent among women with higher parity or having five or more children. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most frequent diagnosis while most patients were diagnosed at the stage-II of the disease.