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119
Comments on Foregoing Table.
The two main groups of organs attacked in both sexes are
the alimentary system and the reproductive system. In males
46.9 per cent. of the total deaths fall within these groups and
in females 83.9 per cent. In males Cancer of the digestive system
is the commonest situation, amounting to 46.8 per cent. In
females it was 40 per cent. Cancer of the reproductive system
caused 43.9 per cent. of the total deaths in females and was the
most prevalent type. Cancer of the larynx, tongue and mouth
is commoner in males than females, 11 deaths occurring in males
as compared with 2 in females. The organs most often attacked
in descending order of incidence are, in males the Rectum and
Bowels (22.0 per cent.); the Stomach (17.7 per cent.); the Lungs
(13.5 per cent.); the Tongue and Mouth (6.4 per cent.); in females,
the Breast (25.0 per cent.); the Bowels and Rectum (17.2 per
cent.); Stomach (16.1 per cent.); and the Uterus (13.3 per cent.).
This is slightly different from the incidence in 1934.
The main incidence of Cancer is, in both sexes, on two
groups of organs, both having a common characteristic, namely,
periods of active cell degeneration and regeneration.
Although much research has been made and is continuing
into the causation of Cancer, the reason why certain cells suddenly
become abnormally active and reproduce themselves excessively,
with resultant invasion of surrounding tissues, has not yet been
elucidated. The Cancer cell is an ordinary tissue cell which has
become invested with abnormal properties. Why this should
happen is not yet understood.