Association of the Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) National Data With the Geographic Distribution of Cervical Carcinoma Among Female Population in Central Province, Sri Lanka: A Descriptive Analysis

Association of the Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) National Data With the Geographic Distribution of Cervical Carcinoma Among Female Population in Central Province, Sri Lanka: A Descriptive Analysis | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Association of the Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) National Data With the Geographic Distribution of Cervical Carcinoma Among Female Population in Central Province, Sri Lanka: A Descriptive Analysis Kandauda Iresh Chaminda De Silva, Anwar Nisam Fathima Aanisha, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7598954/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background Globally, cervical cancer is recognized as the fourth most common cancer among women, with 99% of cases caused by persistent high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. It ranks fourth among female cancers in Sri Lanka. In cervical carcinogenesis, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) play a vital role as cofactors. Therefore, this study focused on mapping the geographic distribution of cervical cancer and STDs in Central Province, Sri Lanka, and identifying overlapping high-prevalence “hotspot” areas via geographic information system (GIS) technology. Methodology A retrospective-descriptive study was conducted using cervical cancer prevalence data from the oncology units of National Hospital, Kandy, and District General Hospital, Nuwara-Eliya, in the Central Province, and STD prevalence data from the National Center for STDs and other clinics in Kandy, Matale, and Nuwara-Eliya districts. Only histopathologically confirmed Sri Lankan resident cases were included. The GIS, with the help of the ARC 9.2 software, was used to map the prevalence at the divisional secretariat division level, and SPSS V 26.0 was used to analyse descriptive statistics. Results In total, 269,97 and 168 cervical cancer cases were reported in Kandy, Matale, and Nuwara-Eliya districts, respectively. The highest cervical cancer prevalence was reported in Gangawata Korale divisional secretariat division (DSD) in Kandy, Galewela DSD in Matale, and Nuwara Eliya DSD in Nuwara Eliya district. The highest prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases was found in Gangawata Korale, Ukuwela, and Nuwara Eliya DSDs. Gangawata Korale and Nuwara Eliya DSDs were recognized as overlapping “hotspot’’ areas, but not in Matale. Conclusion A significant geographic distribution of cervical cancer and STDs was identified in Central Province, Sri Lanka. These “hotspot’’ areas can be helpful to minimize the disease burden by targeted interventions such as enhancing screening, HPV vaccination, and sexual health education. Cervical cancer sexually transmitted diseases geographical information systems Hotspot mapping Sri Lanka Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers invited by journal 10 Oct, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 07 Oct, 2025 Editor invited by journal 19 Sep, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 19 Sep, 2025 First submitted to journal 19 Sep, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7598954","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":533571467,"identity":"f79d2e1b-eb95-4ddb-aaa2-b9e592c53493","order_by":0,"name":"Kandauda Iresh Chaminda De 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Analysis\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-cancer","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"bcan","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Cancer](http://bmccancer.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/bcan/default.aspx","title":"BMC Cancer","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Cervical cancer, sexually transmitted diseases, geographical information systems, Hotspot mapping, Sri Lanka","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7598954/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7598954/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBackground\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGlobally, cervical cancer is recognized as the fourth most common cancer among women, with 99% of cases caused by persistent high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. It ranks fourth among female cancers in Sri Lanka. In cervical carcinogenesis, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) play a vital role as cofactors. Therefore, this study focused on mapping the geographic distribution of cervical cancer and STDs in Central Province, Sri Lanka, and identifying overlapping high-prevalence “hotspot” areas via geographic information system (GIS) technology.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethodology\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA retrospective-descriptive study was conducted using cervical cancer prevalence data from the oncology units of National Hospital, Kandy, and District General Hospital, Nuwara-Eliya, in the Central Province, and STD prevalence data from the National Center for STDs and other clinics in Kandy, Matale, and Nuwara-Eliya districts. Only histopathologically confirmed Sri Lankan resident cases were included. The GIS, with the help of the ARC 9.2 software, was used to map the prevalence at the divisional secretariat division level, and SPSS V 26.0 was used to analyse descriptive statistics.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn total, 269,97 and 168 cervical cancer cases were reported in Kandy, Matale, and Nuwara-Eliya districts, respectively. The highest cervical cancer prevalence was reported in Gangawata Korale divisional secretariat division (DSD) in Kandy, Galewela DSD in Matale, and Nuwara Eliya DSD in Nuwara Eliya district. The highest prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases was found in Gangawata Korale, Ukuwela, and Nuwara Eliya DSDs. Gangawata Korale and Nuwara Eliya DSDs were recognized as overlapping “hotspot’’ areas, but not in Matale.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusion\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA significant geographic distribution of cervical cancer and STDs was identified in Central Province, Sri Lanka. These “hotspot’’ areas can be helpful to minimize the disease burden by targeted interventions such as enhancing screening, HPV vaccination, and sexual health education.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Association of the Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) National Data With the Geographic Distribution of Cervical Carcinoma Among Female Population in Central Province, Sri Lanka: A Descriptive Analysis","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-10-23 11:31:31","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7598954/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-10-10T06:19:55+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-10-07T11:19:29+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2025-09-19T07:07:15+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-09-19T04:38:27+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Cancer","date":"2025-09-19T04:35:41+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-cancer","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"bcan","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Cancer](http://bmccancer.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/bcan/default.aspx","title":"BMC Cancer","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"186189b2-5273-4c69-bec7-3306ac024745","owner":[],"postedDate":"October 23rd, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-10-23T11:31:31+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-10-23 11:31:31","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7598954","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7598954","identity":"rs-7598954","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}