Global, regional, and national burden of cervical cancer in 2022 and projections to 2050: a population-based analysis of GLOBOCAN

<p dir="ltr">Objective: Despite the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative, comprehensive assessments remain limited, prompting this study to evaluate recent trends, current burden, and future progress toward elimination.</p><p dir="ltr">Methods: The global burden of cervical cancer across 185 countries or territories in 2022 was assessed using data from the Global Cancer Observatory 2022, stratified by age and Human Development Index. Trends from 1943 to 2020 were analyzed using data from the Cancer Incidence in Five Continents Plus database, the WHO Mortality Database, and the Nordic Cancer Database. Age-standardized incidence rates and mortality rates were calculated using the Segi-Doll world standard population. Average annual percent changes over the most recent 10 years were estimated using joinpoint regression. Future projections to 2050 were modeled using constant-rate and annual percent change based scenarios.</p><p dir="ltr">Results: In 2022, an estimated 662,301 new cases and 348,874 deaths from cervical cancer occurred globally. Substantial regional disparities in the age-standardized rates were observed, with Eastern Africa and Southern Africa reporting the highest burden. While lower Human Development Index countries had higher burdens in 2022, recent increasing trends were notable in higher Human Development Index countries. Future projections indicate that very high and high Human Development Index countries would require a 3–4% annual reduction in Age-standardized incidence rate to achieve the WHO elimination target by 2050. However, medium and low Human Development Index countries are unlikely to reach the target even with a 5% annual decline.</p><p dir="ltr">Conclusions: Marked disparities in cervical cancer burden persist, and without accelerated efforts, elimination targets may remain unattainable for many low- Human Development Index countries.</p>