Long-term observations of cervical cancer

A consecutive series of approximately 1100 patients, treated for cancer of the cervix over a span of 45 years, presents an increasingly favorable stage distribution. Emergence of exfoliative cytology as a diagnostic technique accelerates allocation of new patients to Stage I. Cumulative rates of dying from cervical cancer equate improved survival in terms of differences in prognosis and in effectiveness of treatment. Long-term observations bring into focus interval changes affecting the reservoir of individuals remaining at risk, which is maintained in accordance with rates of new patient inflow, as well as withdrawal for all categories of attrition. The several factors determining that balance, including age at diagnosis of cervical cancer, do not fall equally on all clinical stages. Age, a dominant factor determining incidence of second primary malignancies, may also have significance in unraveling the obscure etiology of corporeal malignancies evolving among patients irradiated in the treatment of cervical cancer.