An audit of the women who died during 1994 from cancer of the cervix in Victoria, Australia

An audit of 73 Victorian women who died from cervical cancer during 1994 is presented. Seventy per cent of the deaths occurred in women who were greater than or equal to 50 years at the time of cancer diagnosis. Younger women had significantly better screening histories than older women, but overall only 10% of the deaths occurred among women who were adequately screened. There was no excess of deaths in rural women or in women of non-English speaking background. Four of the 6 deaths in women who were diagnosed with cancer while <35 years of age occurred in adequately screened women. If this finding is confirmed in a larger series: it raises questions about the ability of Papanicolaou screening to control disease in this age group.