Cancer of the cervix uteri in Tunisia. Clinical presentation and development over a 10-year period]

Carcinoma of the cervix is still common in Tunisia, where it occupies second place among malignant diseases in women. Accounting for 17% of the female population of the National Cancer Institute of Tunis, it is preceded only by breast cancer (27%). Study of the factors concurrent with the origin of carcinoma of the uterine cervix seems to indicate that its decrease is secondary to the lowered average age at marriage, to the fall in the reproduction rate among the population at large, and to improved socio-economic conditions among the poorer classes. Study of clinical features observed during two separate periods of 10 years shows a modification in the physiognomy of this cancer, with, notably, a larger frequence of lower stages (45% of stage II in 1984 vs 20% in 1974) and a slight tendancy towards the discovery of smaller non - or early - infiltrating tumors (4% in 1984 vs 0% in 1974). Efforts must continue to be made in the domaine of early detection, especially among the "high risk" population.