PRIMARY CARCINOMA OF THE TRACHEA

PRIMARY carcinoma of the trachea is one of the rarest neoplasms found in man. Postmortem studies show the same paucity of cases at leading medical centers¹ throughout the world.

At McGill University Hospital,^1a one case of carcinoma of the trachea was observed in 9,000 autopsies; at Montreal Hospital,^1a one case in 12,700 autopsies; at Johns Hopkins University Hospital,^1a Baltimore, no case in 15,000 autopsies; at New Haven Hospital,^1a New Haven, Conn., no case in 3,900 autopsies; at Philadelphia General Hospital,^1b two cases in 25,000 autopsies; at Charity Hospital,^1b New Orleans, one case in 23 years; at Los Angeles County Hospital,^1b no case in 12,000 autopsies; at Cook County Hospital,^1b Chicago, one case in 545 cases of carcinoma, and at Guy's Hospital, London,^1b no case in 5,000 autopsies. Fraenkel, whose work is cited by Stenn,^1b reported seven cases in 5,063 autopsies, an incidence of 1.4%, which is much higher than most