Key Statistics for Cervical Cancer

How common is cervical cancer?

The American Cancer Society's estimates for cervical cancer in the United States for 2024 are:

• About 13,820 new cases of invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed.
• About 4,360 women will die from cervical cancer.

Cervical pre-cancers are diagnosed far more often than invasive cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer is most frequently diagnosed in women between the ages of 35 and 44, with the average age being 50. It rarely develops in women younger than 20.

Many older women don't realize that they are still at risk of developing cervical cancer as they age. More than 20% of cervical cancers are found in women over 65. However, these cancers rarely occur in women who have been getting regular tests to screen for cervical cancer before they were 65. See Can Cervical Cancer Be Prevented? and Cervical Cancer Screening Tests to learn more about tests used to screen for cervical cancer.

Incidence rates for cervical cancer

Cervical cancer incidence rates decreased by more than half from the mid-1970s to the mid-2000s, largely because of the increased use of screening, but they have stabilized over the past decade. However, in women ages 30-44, rates have increased 1.7% each year from 2012 to 2019.

In contrast, rates declined 11% each year for women ages 20-24, probably reflecting the first signs of cancer prevention from HPV vaccination.

Mortality rates for cervical cancer

Cervical cancer was once one of the most common causes of cancer death for American women. The cervical cancer death rate has dropped by more than half since the mid-1970s because of prevention and screening, although rates have stabilized in recent years. The death rate in Black women and Native American women is about 65% higher than in White women. 

 

Visit the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Statistics Center for more key statistics.