Philip Morris
Semi-Annual Report to the New York City Cancer Committee
Fields
- Area
- GREENWALD,WILLARD
- Type
- REPT, OTHER REPORT
- OUTL, OUTLINE
- Site
- R17
- Request
- Stmn/R1-004
- Stmn/R1-144
- Named Person
- Ariel
- Clemmenssen
- Coleman
- Day, E.
- Johnson
- Kopsch
- Pack
- Patterson
- Pitou
- Robbins, G.F.
- Rorschach
- Sutherland, A.
- Tagnon, H.J.
- Clemmenssen
- Recipient (Organization)
- Ny City Cancer Comm
- Document File
- 1003072849/1003072970/Missing
- Author (Organization)
- Medical Center for Cancer and Allie
- Named Organization
- American Cancer Society
- Associated Press
- Bellevue County Hospital
- Cancer
- Civil Defense
- Comm on Medical Education
- Cornell Univ
- Danish Cancer Registry
- Dept of Public Information
- Fexton Hospital
- Harvard
- James Ewing Society
- Kings County Hospital
- Kips Bay Health Center
- League of Nations
- Medical Records Comm
- Memorial Casualty Comm
- Natl League of Nursing Education
- NCI, Natl Cancer Inst
- Ny City Cancer Comm
- Ny Univ
- Presbyterian Hospital
- Radiumhemmet
- Ski, Sloan-Kettering Inst
- Strang Prevention Clinic
- Univ of Co
- Univ of Ks Hospital
- Utica Memorial Hospital
- Yale Univ
- Alfred P Sloan Foundation
- Associated Press
- Litigation
- Stmn/Produced
- Characteristic
- UNCO, UNCODED LIST
- Master ID
- 1003072897/2915
Related Documents: - Date Loaded
- 05 Jun 1998
- UCSF Legacy ID
- ube38e00
Document Images
- 10 -
E. Articles Published'
° A Review of Certain Special Nursing Problems
of Patients with Cancer," by N,rs. Patterson. A chapter in Treatment
of Cancer and Allied Diseases, edited by Drs. Pack and Ariel.
F. Programs planned for professional visitors:
Since January 1951, the Nursing Department has
sponsored programs, ranging from one-half to four days, for 65
visitors. The Instructors in this Department plan and execute
these programs, which are geared toward the length of time the
visitor has to spend and the particular interests expressed. These
visits generally include a complete tour of the Center; demonstra-
tions of specialized procedures; visits to the clinics and to the
operating room; and attendance at conferences and lectures.

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III. STATISTICS FUND
$11,960.00
Through the support of several members of Memorial's
Department of Statistics, the New York City Cancer Committee has
suostan~ially aided in our statistics program. This work falls
into four main categories, an explanatiomof which follows:
Anticipatory coding of all cancer cases by site:
Memorial's statistical service was set up with a
plan toward the persistent and detailed evaluation of the work being
done at the Center. In this connection there was also instituted
the principle of anticipating basic questions apt to arise. As
rapidly as time and personnel permitted, patient charts dating back
to 1935 were abstracted and processed statistically according to an
anticipatory code. The function of this far-seeing plan is apparent
in the volume of the assistance the Department of Statistics has been
able to give, despite its small staff.
During the first six months of 1951, 1629 cases of cancer
of the breast were coded and 1118 previously coded cases had follow-
up information added to their punch cards. 364 cases of intrinsic
larynx cancer (1935 - 1945) were reviewed and brought up to date,
tabulated and charted.
281 extrinsic larynx cases (1935 - 1942) were reviewed
and brought up to date; 204cases (1943 - 1947) were added to the
series - data on the 485 cases were tabulated and charted. 181
cases of thyroid cancer (1947 - 1949) were abstracted and added to
the previous series of 301 - data on the 482 cases were tabulated.
205 cases of cancer of the paranasal sinuses and nasal cavity were
abstracted. Abstracting of the 1944 and 19Y5 cases of cancer of
the cervix was begun. All cases oi'cancer of the small intestine
(39 cases from 1927 to 1950) were abstracted and coded~.
II. Construction of indices of daily hospital activity,
including admissic.ns, d'_sc?:a^c<e~, diagnoses, and -si?dtment:
The development at the Memorial Hospital of the
Four-Featured Index, which has been describedin previous reports,
is filling a long felt universal need for the indexing of basic data
in a compact and accessible way which enables visiaalization of the
listings and mechanical sorting for tabulating purposes. Advice
on its application is sought every week. In this activity index,
Memorial is pioneering to produce a tool for the general use of
all workers in the field.

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The index provides the following information on
each patient: 1) the anatomic site of origin of the neonla.am;
2) its histological classification; 3) record of ascoc?.ated
medical conditions and postoperative complicatiozs; 4) taLulation
of patient days and related information. L'nd.Fr ti::s prograr!,
1514 admissions so far have been coded, punched, and cross-indexed.
The Department of Statistics uses the In`.ernaticnal
Statistical Classification of Diseases, Injuries, and Causes of
Death for the general disease index. Under each anatomic code
number, there is an alphabetical card index of histologic t.y-pes,
(arranged as a dictionary type index of tumors with nc:meri^al
equivalents), which furnishes a record of total case hoaa,.,zg of any
specific tumor under study and of medical conditions and postopera-
tive complication.
Each day admissions are coded on punch cards and
the experience of the individual patient is checked through~ t:1e
month so that an activity report may be made shcwinz,along,xith
other related information, the number of patients admitted and
discharged~.
For each operation that has been per.for.med si_nce
January 1950, a punch card has been filled out containi-ag the
patient's name, the name of operation, date, surgeon, service,
Aatrology report, and chief diagnosis. These carc'.s forn the
skeleton of a complete index of operations on punch car3s.
A sub-committee to the Medical Records Cormittee
has been Appointedto clarify and define certain of the more compli-
ca':,e;? pro~_e3iares to insure vroper classification. The biomet~ician
has net wTa*n s everal membe: s of this comm3ttee and grad .~:ally c,Pf i.ni -
tious t:-i.11 be for ,hcoyiing. The consultant has wor: :~ea out the de'l-a.ils
of a surgical code whach will be applied to the cards.
The isae.. of operations has provided lists of all
suraical proce~.rses by serv~ice and has saved countless hot1:..s of
the medical sta?'f by Lrak~_rg reaOily available tn::n request lists
of all p*leUl1C)n-zG+oIA:ires, r3'_~'=C2. muctect7rLas, CSCD.11bi::E.'d i`esect]lons
of the inanC-;bln, muth cs.ncer and ra.c _cal r.ecl d_.ssection and
similar irlfcrmation.
III. Pl2.onj,nr; o-tca criT:_cal ana,]!ysi.5 of special studies:
From the po.'_nt of view of the analysts, this area of
activity is the m-,st crucial one anrl the one t4hirn r.ea-iires the most
hi;'niy specialized skill. The DePar-.ment of Statistics has carried

13
out a number of such studies in cooperation with various other
departments of Memorial Center.
Gynecology Service: For a project of this group in
cooperation with the Pathology Department, a special code for
evaluation of radical hysterectomy with pelvic node dissection
was prepared by the Department of Statistics. The difference in
the League of Nations Grading of cervix cancer before operation
and the findings of the operation constitutes a significant
contribution to the knowledge on this subject.
Gastric and Mixed Tumor'Service: A member of this
group is studying retroperitoneal tumors with the help of the De-
partment of Statistics. Statistical abstractions of the details
of all cases of retroperitoneal cancer, of which Memorial has an
unusually large number, are in preparation.
Thoracic Service: In response to a request from~this
service, lists were prepared of patients with achalasia and cardio-
spasm~. This service also requested figures on cytological tests
done in connection with lung cancer. Fr=a study previously per-
formed we were able to obtai~n the results of cytological tests
on sputums, washings and aspiration biopsy in a series of 128 cases
of resection for cancer of the lung. The Department of Statistics
has also compiled a list of all cases of cancer of the esophagus
seenat Memorial, Hospital from 1930 through 1950.
Breast Service: For the chief of the Breast Ser-
vice, a study was done on the results of radical mastectomy plus
administration of testosterone as compared with radical mastectomy
alone. A preliminary report was completed on two series of breast
cancer cases, those (350) who had the standard procedure - radical
mastectomy - and those (218) who had radical mastectomy plus
administration of testosterone. The survival rate curves were
plotted for the two groups.
For one of the attending surgeons on the Breast
Service, a study was und'erta.ken in June to determine the occurrence
of lymphedema of arm following radical mastectomy for cancer of
the breast. At the pr--sent date 1084 cases have been coded and
punched and are being sorted.

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Head and Neck Service: One of the operations em-
ployed extensively and perfected at Memorial Hospital is the
radical neck dissection for eradication of neck node metastases.
For the chief of the Head and Neck Service the statistical
department abstracted the records of 599 patients having 655
neck dissections performed from 1928 to 1945 The resulting
statistical tables appear in the article "Neck Dissection" in
Cancer, May 1951. An interesting fact disclosed by this study
is that in 303 patients with cervical metastases in whom neck
dissection was performed, 101+ patients or 34.3% were free of disease
at five years from date of neck dissection.
At the request of one of the Attending Surgeons
on the Head and Neck Service a paper on combined resection of
primary mouth cancer, mandible and neck (the "Conmando") was
read by the biometrician, and a critical analysis of some of the
statements contained in~the article was made. The conclusion
reached was that more time is needed before the apparent im-
provement in cure rates for this very advanced type of mouth
cancer can be accepted as real. Nevertheless, the three and
four year results are very encouraging.
The study of the relationship between smoking and
cancer of the mouth has been uaderiray in the statistical department
for two years. Approximately 2000 cases have been interviewed
since July, 1949, men and women with mouth cancer matched with
men and women with no mouth complaint. A special code was con-
structed for the study of this material. All the cases have been
coded and punched, and the collected data are now ready for analysis.
Division of Experimental Chemotherapy: A member of this
Division of the Sloan-Kettering Institute requested help in planning
a study of all patients with leul.emia and other forms of cancer
that have received any form~of chemotherapy at Memorial Hospital
since such treatment was instituted.
Division of Experimental Pathology: The head of the
Cytochemistry Section of the Division requested a sound statisti-
cal basis:for planning alproject of mass screening of populations
for cancer of the cervix. Conferences with the biometrician and
the consultant to the department resulted in a plan.
Department of Public Information: Since the first of the
year, a Quadrennial Report of Memorial Center has been in prepara-
tion. In cooperation with the Department of Public Information,

f
k,
15
the Department of Statistics has prepared a list of the new cases
of cancer seen at Memorial Hospital by anatomic site for 1947,
1948) 1949 and 1950 plus the percentage distribution of the total
cancer cases for the four year period. From this data, uniform
tables were constructed for each service containing the new cases
of cancer by site plus all the benign and precancerous lesions
seen on that particular service. For each service, a table of
operations performed'in 1950 was prepared; these tables will be
included as a part of the Quadrennial Report. All statistical
figures included in the individual reports were checked by the
statistical department. A table was prepared of the number of
x-ray treatments given according to service for each of the years
1947, 1948, 1949, and 1950 for inclusion in the Quadrennial Report.
For a representative of the Associated Press, the
Department of Statistics prepared some figures on incidence of
children's tumors. 2.06% of all cancers are in the 0 - 19 age
group; approximately 30;~ of bone cancers of upper and lower
extremities occur in patients under twenty years of age.
Public Information requested for the American
Cancer Society the latest cure rates available in cancer of the
breast, cervix, larynx, and many other sites. The five-year
cure rates on cancer of the breast, cervix, corpus, lip, larynx,
tongue, and on children with cancer by histologic type were pre-
pared.
IV. Participation in cancer education activities:
Education Prcgrem: The Statistics Department
has participated in the Education Program at Memorial Hospital to
an increasing degree. The biomei;rician has continued lectures to
the medical students, has given alecture to the staff on "Cancer
Statistics" and arranged to have a lecture given at Memorial Center
by Dr. Cle_essen, an eminent statistician from Denmark, who spoke
on geographic variations in incidence of cancer.
3aries E?aing Society: On March 16, the biometrician
presented "A Comparative Report on Cancer of Intrinsic and Extrinsic
Larynx from Several Cancer Treatment Centers" at the meeting of the
James Ez+ringSociety. The paper aroused considerable interest in
that it stressed the need for a uniformimethod of presenting end
results.
New York City Cancer Committee: On May 9th, the
25th anniversary of the I.ew Yorl~ City Cancer Committee, the

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consul:tant spoke to this group on the improvement in cancer cure
rates.
Visitors; From all over the world visitors have
come to Memorial Center to study the operation of the Department
of Statistics and to obtain help in planning similar record and
follow-up systems. They have come from the Radiumhemmet in
Stockholm, from the Danish Cancer Registry in Copenhagen, from
Iruiiay Yugoslavia, Italy, England, and from Michigan, Ohio,
Illinois, and from other institutions in New York City (Bellevue
and Kings County Hospital). Requests for help have been received
from University of Kansas Hospital, from the University of Colora-
do and from the American Cancer Society. In answer to these re-
quests, a detailed description of the system with enclosed samples
of cards filled out, codes and nomenclatures have been sent.
Arrangements are underway to record and publish this
information for distribution and general reference under the title
of "Techniques in cancer record keeping, tabulation and analysis,
and follow-up techniques."
