Prognosis

The prognosis in carcinoma is exceedingly unfavourable, the natural progress in every case being toward the destruction of life. The prognosis, as to course and duration of the disease, varies much in the different forms and in the different parts of the system affected. Scirrhous cancer is one of the most regular in its course, its average duration, when uninterrupted by operation, being about three years.

The encephaloma is more rapid in its course, the average duration of life being less than two years, even in parts whose formations are not essential to life. Carcinoma of the tongue, the interior of the mouth, the oesophagus, and the penis are very rapid in progress, being usually fatal in from twelve to eighteen months. Carcinoma of the lip, the face, and the rectum are slower and more amenable to treatment.