Patients suffering from a collum carcinoma stage T 1b can be treated either by operation according to Wertheim and Meigs, or by radiotherapy. The results with regard to post operationem complications, five-year-survival and recidivation are equivalent in both methods. Therefore, an analysis of the indirect benefit and the costs of both therapies was performed. Surgery was superior to radiotherapy in all analysed dimensions of indirect benefit. Over and above this, expenses for an operation were 2.7 times lower than for radiotherapy.