Data

Abnormal Cervical Test results and incidence of cervical cancer by age group, 2020

In the data shown above, taken from the AIHW 2024 National Cervical Screening Report, shows the number of cervical tests which returned an abnormal result in 2020 and the number of cervical cancer cases diagnosed in 2020.

The graph shows that the highest number of abnormal test results were returned by younger women, but more cases of cancer were diagnosed in middle aged women. This indicates that while cell changes due to HPV can occur at a younger age, official cancer diagnosis is more common in older people either because of the body's immune system changing from age or not treating the initial issue and allowing it to progress to cancer.