Fresh alarms on the increase of cancer / by E.F. Bashford.

  • Bashford, Ernest Francis, 1873-
Date:
[1914]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Fresh alarms on the increase of cancer / by E.F. Bashford. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    11/12
    1] while at the same time neglecting all the limitations to which his figures are subject. It is not the present purpose to discuss again the question of the real or apparent increase of cancer, but only to show the inadequate basis upon which alarm has been again raised in America and com- municated to the public of this country. Never- theless, the analysis of deaths from cancer for England and Wales, in which due regard is paid to age, sex, and site distribution of the disease, has completely demonstrated that it is wrong to speak of an increase of cancer as a whole. While admitting discussion of the real or apparent in- crease for certain parts of the body—since the unintentional experiments of native races alter entirely the relative anatomical distribution of cancer as known for Europeans—these statistics clearly demonstrate that for other parts no increase has taken place. The position taken up by King and Newsholme in 1893 has been amply justified, that the increase is mainly in parts of the body inaccessible to complete examination, as has also the development of the views of these authors as set forth in the reports of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund. While other countries have been discussing the “ increase ” of cancer during the past 12 years on the old imperfect primary data, by means of antiquated statistical methods in which all cases of cancer are lumped together, and no allowance is made for sex and age constitution, or have been endeavouring to circumvent the handicaps thus imposed by means of fallacious voluntary or com- pulsory cancer censuses, the General Register Office in this country has been carefully tabulating year by year more elaborate and more accurate primary data. The new and very important deductions thus made possible are set forth in the recent reports of the Registrar General for Births, Deaths, and Marriages. The biological (etiological) significance of some of these improvements was foreshadowed in 1905 in the Second Scientific Report of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund. The results attained have also been commented on in the more recent reports of this Fund. To sura up, the statements of an alarming