Document 6Xe0V668L9M5x0JGb9wyBOgE
CANCERS OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
371
the century, and has gained momentum only recently. In several cities (or large hospitals) no appreciable; changes in the incidence of lung tumors could be demonstrated (Bonser; Passey and Holms; Hanf;. Ask-Upmark; Sitsen; Gruber; Breckwoldt; Marchesani; Eichengriin and Esser; and Neely) (Germany: Koelln, Hamburg, Innsbruck; England: Leeds, Glasgow; Swe den: Lund; Russia: Leningrad; United States: Nebraska). The great majority of reports on this subject, based on death certificates, clinical observa tions, and autopsy findings, note a definite and striking increase of the inci dence of pulmonary neoplasms during the last twenty years (Wells; Simons; Weller; Hruby and Sweany; and Hutchison). Autopsy records, which doubt lessly represent the most reliable source of information and which were ob tained in large and well-controlled institutions, show this trend of increase in a convincing manner.
The following compilations may illustrate the course of events during the present century:
a) Evidence obtained from death records of the general population. Bureau of Census (U.S.A.):
Year
Number of hung Cancer fer 100,000 population
1914 1925 1926
0.6
i-7 1.8
1927 Cole:
1.9
1901-1910
1.02 for males and 0.70 for females
5.10
"
1.63
Stocks (England and Wales) ;
1921-1930..
2.5 1.0
1933
6.7 "
1.8
Kennaway and Kennaway (England and Wales) :
1921
361 deaths from cancer of the lung in males
1932
1553 " "
" "" " " "
b) Composite data collected from various sources:
Author Weller
Simons
Year
No. Autopsies No. Lung Cancer
1872-1898
382,671
159
1898-1916
192,271
488
1916-1924
33.308
7*
1900-1930
22,754
137
1899 from records of n American
to
1930 and Canadian investigators
Percentage 0.04 O.24 0.21 0.60
1-55
Simons stated that the same American and Canadian sources showed an increase from 5.88 per cent of all cancer in 1910-1914 to 8.28 per cent in i925_i928. Similar observations were made by Ask-Upmark on data from