The Incidence of Hysterectomy and Its Effect on the Probability of Developing Uterine Cancers

Published hysterectomy rates from several Australian States range between 376 and 489 per 105 women — values that lie between the lower European rates and the higher North American rates. We used a life‐table method to calculate that for a woman aged 65 years exposed lifelong to current rates in New South Wales, the probability of having had a hysterectomy would be 25 per cent, and for an 85 year old, 29 per cent. One consequence of this finding is that the rates of acquiring cervical and uterine cancer are not reflected accurately in disease incidence rates based on all women as the denominator: our calculations show that the actual rates applying to a woman with her uterus in‐situ could be much higher in older age groups than apparent from crude rates. This is important to understand trends in female genital cancer, and to ensure appropriate screening and prevention strategies are developed.