ABSTRACT
In England and Wales the crude death rate from cancer has been rising for many years. Most of the real overall increase in cancer mortality can be attributed to the increase in the number of deaths attributed to lung cancer. A study was therefore made of the natural duration of life of untreated patients suffering from cancers of tongue, breast, cervix of uterus, rectum and oesophagus. The need for registration was recognized by the Ministry of Health when it prescribed in 1946 Standard Cancer Registration and Case Abstract cards for use in all areas where there was a cancer scheme approved under the Cancer Act of 1939. It is only in areas where registration is almost complete that it is possible to use registration statistics to estimate the prevalence of disease and the incidence of new cases. Several specialist cancer treatment centres maintain their own rigorous follow-up investigations.
