SQUAMOUS-CELL EPITHELIOMA OF THE LIP

Abstract

Of all the malignant neoplasms with which man is afflicted, few cause more concern and inconvenience than that of epithelioma of the lip. In the past, pathologists have been content to classify cancer of the lip as cancer, without any distinction as to the degree of malignancy. It is a well established fact that some cancers of the lip are fatal to patients and others are not. There must be a reason for this. One theory is that some persons are resistant to cancer, and this seems to be borne out in a certain percentage of cases. Undoubtedly, a large proportion of cancer cells are destroyed by the defense cells of the body; of these, the fibrous connective tissue cell is the most important, since it cuts off nourishment from the cancer cells. The endothelial leukocyte and lymphocyte evidently also play ah important role in the destruction of cancer cells,