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the Bowels and Rectum (19.8 per cent.); Stomach (15.9 percent.);
and the Uterus (7.8 per cent.). This is slightly different from
the incidence in 1935. There has been a noticeable increase in the
number of deaths attributed to Carcinoma of the Prostate, and
an equally noticeable decrease in the number of deaths attributed
to Carcinoma of the Uterus.
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.
The number of deaths from Cancer rose by 100 cases, a 30
per cent. increase over 1935; males showed 48 more deaths and
females 52. The chief sites of increases were: In males, the
Tongue and Mouth, the Stomach and Bowel, the Prostate and
the Lungs; in females, the Stomach and Bowel, and Breast.
Whether this increase in cancer deaths is due to the increasing
average age of the population, or to better diagnosis is
impossible to say upon the data available, but probably both have
an influence. The high incidence of cancer in the digestive system
is disturbing, pointing as it does to dietary errors, and modes of
eating.