Declines in cervical cancer incidence among young women in the United States

We calculated age-standardized cervical cancer incidence rates and trends by histologic type among women aged 15-29 years, using cancer registry data covering approximately 99% of the United States population. We examined differences in incidence rates from the earliest to the most recent study period and quantified changes over time using joinpoint regression. Incidence rates for cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma (AC) decreased significantly during 1999-2022 in all age groups (15-20, 21-24, 25-29 years). Among women aged 15-20 years, cervical SCC rates were stable from 1999-2010 but declined substantially by 24.2% (95% CI -44.4, -18.0) each year from 2010-2022, with only a few cases reported during 2017-2022. These findings show that cervical cancer incidence has declined among adolescents and young adult women in the United States, particularly in more recent years, highlighting the population-level impact of cervical cancer prevention measures.