PROSTATIC CANCER

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 302, 21 December 1943, Page 2

PROSTATIC CANCER

CLAIM FOR CONTROL VIEW OF N.Z. EXPERT (0.C.) WELLINGTON, this day. The recent cable message from Britain regarding the control of cani cer of the prostate gland is con- . sidered by medical experts in Wel- ; lington to be of considerable import- ■ ance. The report stated that cancer of the prostate gland could be "com- ; pletely controlled" by taking by the : mouth doses of a synthetic chemical i called diethylstilboestrol. Professor i Dodds gave the facts at the annual meeting of the British Empire Cancer Campaign in London. When asked to comment on the claims a prominent medical expert who holds an important position in the New Zealand branch of the British Empire Cancer Campaign said: "Professor Dodds is a famous bio-chemist. He was present two or three years ago at the cancer conference held in Australia. He was then strongly of the opinion that a cure for cancer would come from a chemical discovery. This latest drug for the cure of cancer of the prostate has been under trial for several years. It has been used experimentally as a cancer-producing agent in breast cancer in small animals It has also been used in the opposite direction for controlling cancer in other parts of the body. The same . drug has been used in New Zealand very recently for relief or cure of cancer of the prostate. In one specific case, published in the Medical Journal, the improvement has been dramatic From a state of constam pain and wretchedness the patient comfo?t t0 r6SUme 3Ctive w °* k * in^hf,/? I s amazingly promising, but I think it is too early vet to make a general conclusion from a small number of cases. Nevertheless it is reasonable to assume we now have the means to give that relief to cases of prostatic cancer which are not uncommon. But in'aU discoveries m the treatment of cancer it is wise not to be precipitate ami fosmatic till a large nB? cases are collected and reviewed At the owest estimate the relief" obtained in cases of prostatic cancer is a meat