228 Mr. G. King and Dr. A. Newsholme. 



Ireland, according to the primary seat of the disease, whenever this 

 is given in the death certificate. The number of years as yet avail- 

 able does not allow of any valid deductions being drawn, and the 

 great variation during the four available years under the head of 

 cancer of unspecified parts causes a further difficulty in utilising the 

 figures. 



In the 52nd Annual Report (1889) of the Registrar- General for 

 England, the subject of the part of the body affected by cancer is also 

 discussed, and in the words of the Registrar- General, "a sufficiently 

 large sample of those cases of cancer in which the seat of disease is 

 more or less clearly specified " is taken out to warrant the assumption 

 that "such samples fairly represent the bulk " (p. 15). This method, 

 however, does not appear to us to furnish trustworthy results, and we 

 only refer to it here in passing. 



To summarise, the conclusions arrived at from the whole inves- 

 tigation are as follows : 



1. Males and females suffer equally from cancer in those parts of 

 the body common to man and woman, the greater prevalence of 

 cancer among females being due entirely to cancer of the sexual 

 organs, viz., the mamma, ovaries, uterus, and vagina. This is shown 

 by the Frankfort statistics, and may not unreasonably be accepted as 

 a probable general law, seeing that in other respects, where com- 

 parison is possible, the Frankfort statistics are confirmed by those 

 of the United Kingdom. 



2. The apparent increase in cancer is confined to what we have called 

 " inaccessible " cancer. This is shown (a) by the Frankfort statistics ; 

 (5) by the fact that the difference between the rates for males and 

 females respectively is approximately constant, and does not progres- 

 sively increase with the apparent increase in cancer in each of the 

 sexes ; (c) because the apparent increase in cancer among the well- 

 to-do assured lives, who are presumably attended by medical men 

 of more than average skill, is not so great as among the general 

 population. 



3. The increase in cancer is only apparent and not real, and is due 

 to improvement in diagnosis and more careful certification of the causes 

 of death. This is shown by the fact that the whole of the increase has 

 taken place in inaccessible cancer difficult of diagnosis, while accessible 

 cancer easily diagnosed has remained practically stationary. 



