Cancer of the tongue causes more deaths than any other of the malignant growths of the head and neck, and therefore it must be considered the most important tumor in that group. In comparison with other malignant growths of the upper respiratory and alimentary tracts, it is only slightly less malignant than the highly anaplastic and rapidly growing tumors of the oropharynx and nasopharynx. Excluding cancer of the lip, it is more frequent than any other single anatomic variety of cancer in this region.
The records of the Memorial Hospital for the Treatment of Cancer and Allied Diseases contain over 1,500 cases of cancer of the tongue, but since many of the older records are incomplete, we have utilized for the purpose of this report only the cases of patients admitted during the eight year period, 1927 to 1934 inclusive. This series (556 cases) comprises a consecutive group of all