COMPUTER ANALYSIS OF 3531 BASAL‐CELL CARCINOMAS OF THE SKIN

It is with great humbleness that I stand here before this august audience. The previous Dohi lecturers have all been reknown leaders of dermatology who have contributed extensively to the fibers which have created the tightly woven fabric that firmly holds together the various fields of knowledge fundamental to the clinical and scientific excellence of our profession. However, it is also with some pride that I can celebrate with you a birthday. It was just 25 years ago that Dr. Marion B. Sulzberger asked me to create in the Department of Dermatology the Oncology Section of the Skin and Cancer Unit ofNew York University Medical Center. Although some groundwork had already been done in the Skin and Cancer Unit in terms of pioneering therapy of cancers of the skin particularly with x-ray therapy under the skillful guidance of Dr. George Miller McKee, it was in 1954 that the challenge of creating a comprehensive Oncology Section was offered to me. This was a rather awesome responsibility for a young man since I was in the last year of my residency training in dermatology. I faced the problem of collecting a very large quantity of data concerning all types of cutaneous neoplasms at a time when the technology for handling such volumes of information had not