The question of the relatively low rate of incidence of cervical cancer among Jewish women was raised in the House of Commons today when William Shepherd, Conservative M. P., asked Health Minister Kenneth Robinson if he had evidence of such a disparity in the incidence rate between Jewish and other women.
Citing the view of a Newcastle professor on the question, Mr. Shepherd asked the Health Minister to make any information on the matter known to the public.
In his reply, Mr. Robinson said that, while there was no conclusive evidence available at the moment, “various studies have shown that Jewish women have a markedly lower incidence rate than others.” He said there were indications that male circumcision may be a factor. He noted that death from cancer of the uterine cervix in 1961 in Israel was only one per 100,000 compared with 10.5 per 100,000 for England and Wales.
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