Lynnette Denny, a pioneering cervical cancer researcher and champion for women’s health, has died. She was 66.
Denny died on Sunday after a long illness, according to a statement from the University of Cape Town (UCT), where she was head of the department of obstetrics and gynaecology between 2013 and 2022.
She studied medicine at UCT and then pursued a PhD on detecting human papilloma virus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer, among women living in Cape Town’s Khayelitsha township. In sharp contrast to the rest of the world, cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among SA women, due to weak health services and the high prevalence of HIV, which makes women more vulnerable to HPV infection.
Denny’s early research, which she began soon after scientists discovered the link between HPV and cervical cancer, found up to 90% of HIV-positive women will develop HPV infection. Her most recent work focused on self-screening for HPV, providing HIV positive women with swab kits they can use at home, rather than relying solely on Pap smear tests provided by the state every 10 years. The technology has the potential to save many lives, as late diagnosis is a contributor to SA’s high cervical cancer mortality. About half of the 11,000 women diagnosed with cervical cancer in SA each year die.
Denny also championed the rights of people who had survived rape, sexual abuse and domestic violence, and with her then colleague Lorna Martin, head of UCT’s department of forensic medicine, designed new protocols to improve the examination women and men who had been raped. Her team was the first to introduce the routine provision of anti-HIV pills for rape survivors.
She was the recipient of many awards, including the Order of the Baobab (Silver) in recognition of her work on cervical cancer and HPV.
UCT’s head of obstetrics and gynaecology Mushi Matjila described Denny as a “stern and unwavering advocate for the most vulnerable women within our society”, whose research had both local and global impact.
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