A study of carcinoma of uterine cervix with special reference to its causation and prevention

In a study of 50 patients with carcinoma of the cervix matched with 50 healthy controls, the frequency of sexual intercourse was found to be significantly higher in patients as compared with controls. There were no differences in the observance of personal cleanliness by the husbands of patients as compared with controls. Since an alkaline milieu surrounding mucus-bearing epithelial cells renders the mucus fluid which in this state escapes from the cell, and since this is known to cause hyperplasia, metaplasia and an increase in mitotic activity, changes in the pH of semen were studied as a result of daily, weekly and fortnightly ejaculations. As the frequency of ejaculation increased the semen became more alkaline. The view is presented that it is not the smegma but the alkaline reaction, if the sex act is frequent, which may bear a causal responsibility for carcinoma of cervix. Sheath contraception would, therefore, appear to be an important measure in the prevention of carcinoma of cervix.