Risk of cervical cancer among wives of men with carcinoma of the penis

Abstract

The relationship between carcinomas of the penis and cervix uteri was analyzed in married couples. The final series comprised 239 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the penis and their 224 wives. Two wives were found to have squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix uteri. The expected number of cervical cancers within the group of wives was 1.88, the relative risk thus being 1.05 (95% confidence interval 0.13-3.8). The incidence of condylomas has increased during the recent decades, while that of carcinomas of the penis and uterine cervix has decreased. The results of this study did not support the hypothesis that wives of men with penile cancer incur an increased risk of carcinoma of the cervix uteri. Although there is much evidence from a large number of studies that human papilloma virus (HPV) has a role in the aetiology of cervical cancer, our study suggests that HPV associated with genital malignancies has a low infectivity or that these cancers have multifactorial aetiology.