The occurrence of second primary malignancies was assessed among 2922 women with cervical cancer, 2721 women with endometrial cancer and 1745 women with malignant neoplasms of the ovaries, who were notified to the cancer registry of Saarland, Germany, between 1968 and 1987. Analyses are presented for second primary malignancies at any site and at the most important single sites. Among women with cervical cancer, 98 second primary malignancies were observed, slightly fewer than the 99.3 cases that would have been expected on the basis of the incidence rates of the general population (standardized incidence ratio, SIR = 0.99). More second malignancies were observed than expected in the urinary bladder (SIR = 3.51) while the opposite applied to second neoplasms in the breast (SIR = 0.56). Among women with endometrial and ovarian cancer, the numbers of observed cases slightly exceeded the expected numbers for second primary neoplasms at any site (SIR = 1.19 and 1.41 respectively). More second primary neoplasms were observed than expected in the colon, breast, urinary bladder and kidneys among these women. We discuss our results, which are in agreement with findings among North European and North American populations, from clinical and etiological points of view.