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‘Nuns, virgins, and spinsters’. Rigoni‐Stern and cervical cancer revisited
Author(s) -
GRIFFITHS MALCOLM
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
bjog: an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.157
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1471-0528
pISSN - 1470-0328
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1991.tb13485.x
Subject(s) - cervical cancer , medicine , stern , gynecology , population , cancer , obstetrics , demography , history , environmental health , ancient history , sociology
Summary. The view that nuns have a very low risk of cervical cancer is questioned. The historical evidence for this view is reviewed, from the beginning of the eighteenth century to the present. An estimate of the actual mortality rate from cervical cancer suggests that risk of death from this neoplasm among nuns is little different from that among the general female population. It is recommended that nuns should not be excluded from cervical cytology screening. When symptoms which might suggest cervical cancer arise in such women, full gynaecological assessment is necessary.