Risk factors for carcinoma of the uterine cervix in Jamaican women
Prabhakar, P.; Narla, V.R.; Prabhu, P.S.; Persaud, V.
West Indian Medical Journal 36(2): 86-90
1987
ISSN/ISBN: 0043-3144 PMID: 3673059 Document Number: 303966
Risk factors of cervical cancer include early age at coitus, multiple sexual partners and antibiotics to herpes simplex virus, type 2 (HSV-2). To examine the interrelationships of these risk factors, a comparison was made between 78 histologically confirmed cancer cases (stages 0-IV) and 151 controls women in Jamaica. The rank of order of the percentages of control women with low socioeconomic status, first coitus before 20 years of age, first pregnancy before 20 years of age and more than two sexual partners were: 77, 97, 65 and 76 respectively. The percentage of women with cancer who had first coitus before 20 years of age (77) and 2 or more partners (55) were lower than that of controls. A third factor associated with cervical cancer is the presence of HSV-2 antibodies. The age-specific prevalence of HSV-2 antibodies varied from 7% to 32% in women aged 21-69 years. An increase in prevalence of HSV-2 antibodies was observed with increasing age. The age-adjusted prevalence was 11 per cent. The age-specific occurrence of HSV-2 antibodies in cancer cases varied from 6% to 28% with a prevalence of 7.8%. The mean antibody titers in cancer cases were not statistically significant as compared with matched controls (P > 0.01). The data suggest that infection with HSV-2 is a covariable of venereal factors, and the role of the virus in the genesis of some cases of cervical cancer in Jamaican women may not be excluded.