Article:

Prevalence of Cervical Cancer among Cervical Biopsies in a Tertiary Care Center

Abstract Introduction: Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancer among the female population in Nepal. The incidence and mortality rate due to cervical cancer is higher in developing countries like Nepal due to a lack of proper screening and early diagnosis. This study aims to find out the prevalence of cervical cancer among cervical biopsies in a tertiary care center. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among the hospital records of cervical biopsies from the department of pathology of Shree Birendra Hospital from 1st May 2018 to 30th April 2019. Ethical approval was taken from the Institutional Review Committee in February 2020. This study was conducted among 146 cervical biopsies by using convenience sampling method. Point estimate at 95% Confidence Interval was calculated along with frequency and proportion for binary data. Data were analyzed using excel 2016 software. Results: The prevalence of cervical cancer among 146 cases included in our study is found to be 6 (4.11%) at 95% Confidence Interval (0.90-7.32). Among those cases of cervical cancer, 4 (66.67%) were squamous cell carcinoma, 1 (16.67%) was adenocarcinoma, and 1 (16.67%) was of other type. Maximum cases of cervical cancer were prevalent among higher age groups. Conclusions: Cervical cancer-related morbidity and mortality are different in different parts of the world. It’s burden is primarily seen in developing countries where there is a lack of effective screening programs. Keywords: cervical cancer, mortality, prevalence, screening