[Descriptive epidemiology and prognosis of malignant gynecologic tumors]

Based on data from the Saarland (W. Germany) Cancer Registry, epidemiology and prognosis of gynaecological malignancies is presented for the period 1971-1985. Breast cancer is the most frequent gynaecological tumour followed by tumours of the uterus (cervix + corpus). This is in accordance with worldwide observations. The age distribution of all analysed tumour localisations follows approximately a normal distribution with a maximum between 60 and 65 years of age. Tumours of the breast, cervix and corpus have almost the same prognosis (5-year-survival-rate greater than 60%); the prognosis of ovarian cancer is distinctly poorer. A clear decrease in the incidence is observed only for cervical cancer. The indications are that the proportion of aged patients is continually rising. The mortality, on the other hand, does not increase to the same extent, which indicates a progressive success of therapy of gynaecological malignancies. Since the Saarland Cancer Registry is the only population-based unit functioning for a sufficiently long period, the results represent a model of the situation in the Federal Republic of Germany.