WAR ON CANCER

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 12, 5 September 1931, Page 6

WAR ON CANCER

SIGNS OF VICTORY IN , BATTLE AGAINST DISEASE SURPR1SING .CONCLUSION. As the result of uo-ordinated work of surgeons, physicians, and Scientiflc' men thrnughout the British Empire, theie a-re hopeful signs of victory in the world war against cancer. The latest moves in the hattle against the dread disease were revealed "In thej report of the British Empire Cancer Gampaign, suhmitted at a meet'ing in the House of Lords. "T-hanks to the .campaign," the report stated, "cancer research has been stimulated in every civilised 'country, with the result that there is now being conducted tbroughouL the whole world1 the most formidable attack upon a disease of which history holds record. More progress is now made 'in a year than was made, formerly, in a century, and the rate of progress is always accelerating. For kno'wledge is the seed of now knowledge. Every succes'sful research furnishes the material of fres'h inquiries and eniarges, at the same time, the hope of complete understanding." Success in several directions, the report d'iscloses, has fallen to dootors who have heen Snvestlgatlng Speclal Aspects of the disease. "It has been long known," the report continues, "thal the .animal body offers resistance to the growih of cancer. Advantage was taken of this knowledge to prepare a serum which should possess the natural anti-cancerous properties in concentrated fOrm, and a* measure of success has attended the effort." .

This new anti-cancer substance is now being carefully tested on animals, and the report states. that it has proved so successful that the animals acquire Immunity to cancer of such a nature that no further grafts oan be made to take. "While this must be looked upon as a most encouraging result," the report proceeds, "the fact remaina that the anti-cancer substance did not bring about disappearance „of the tumour in every instance. It would seem, therefore, that some unknown factor of decisive importanee to the result is present, or absent, in these unsuccessful cases. A diligent searoh is now being made for this factor." A great deal of work,, according to the report, has been done on the relation of heredity to 'cancer, >and it' has been found that a certain type of tumour runs in families, and a large proportion of the affected individuals develop cancer in early life. In addition to work upon coal tar, which is known to cause cancer, experimental work 'is being made to flnd a method of freeing lubricating oils, during and after manufacture, from the cancer-producing substance wbich some of t'hem contain. Particular attention is being paid io this in Manchester, for success in this research would make it-possible !o prevent such conditions as mulespinner's cancer, and would open a new ohapter in the history 'of preventive medicine. As regards the use of radium it has been found tbat tbe Eest Results IHavs Been Obtained in cases of cancer of the mouth or breast. Q A Jsurprising conclusion in the report is that the cos41y four-gramme radium "bomb" loaned by the Radium Oommission to the Westminster Hospital "has proved dangerous hy reason of the strength of the radiations emitted by it." The report adds: Serious blood changes have occurred in patients and blood changes have also been observed in persons in charge of the apparatus, although these attendants have handled the radium with due care and during very short periods. Elaborate precautions ]o protect patients and attendants from harm have been devised, but.lt may well be that the application of such enormous quaniities- of radium will flnd no permanent place in the treatment of cancer. The bomb was secured by the Na'ional Radium Trust and installed at the Westminster Hospital in November, 1929. In an ofllcial communication the Radium Oommission stated that orders had been placed.for 10 grammes of radium — to cost £100,000. The four-gramme bomb, it was stated, might be purehased by the Trust at a cost of between £40,000 and £50,000, in which case it would be entrusted for a further period of three years, at a rental of £410 per annum, to that hospital. The bomb came origmally from Belgium. There were then only three other radium bombs in the world — at Paris, New York, and Brussel's. The Westminister bomb. was the only one of its kind in the British Empire.