Assessment of risk patterns in cancer of the cervix: a comparison between greater Bombay and Western countries

Abstract

In order to identify the high-risk groups in the community, a retrospective study of 503 women with histologically proved invasive carcinoma of the uterine cervix was undertaken and the results were compared with a similar appraisal of an equal number of controls closely matched for age, religion and income, in order to examine certain risk factors suspected of being of aetiological importance in patients with cervical cancer. We have sought to estimate the effects of parity, and of age at first marriage, first delivery and last delivery. The highest risk was observed in women who had undergone several pregnancies early in life. It is interesting to note that multiparity was one of the important risk factors in Bombay women, in contrast with the situation reported in Western countries.