IS CERVICAL-CANCER IN ETHIOPIAN WOMEN THE RESULT OF A SEXUALLY-TRANSMITTED DISEASE

Cervical cancer is the most prevalent cancer of women in Ethiopia and sexually transmitted diseases are highly prevalent in the country. In order to establish a possible cause and effect relationship between se xually transmitted diseases and cervical cancer, likely etiological so cio-economic factors for these two conditions have been analysed. Whil e residence, income, age at first coitus, age, number of sexual partne rs, marital status/profession and duration of sexual life affect both conditions, there is a significant difference between the most importa nt factors in the etiology of the separate conditions. Serological tes ting shows a high prevalence of gonorrhea, which was used as a marker of STD. Women with gonococcal antibodies had evidence of increased exp osure to other STD; there was no such correlation for cervical cancer. Our results indicate that STD per se is unlikely to be a primary caus e of CC in Ethiopia. It appears probable that the etiology of CC in Et hiopia is multifactorial. Early exposure of the immature cervical epit helium to STD, the trauma of repeated childbirth, and multiple sexual partners in women whose defence factors are impaired by chronic malnut rition, add up to a major medico-socio-economic factor. The evidence p resented here suggests that CC in Ethiopia is not so much the result o f a sexually transmitted disease, but a socio-sexual disease.