CANCER CAMPAIGN IN DOMINION

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 232, 28 June 1935, Page 10

CANCER CAMPAIGN IN DOMINION

Work on Three Fronts RESEARCH LABORATORY AT DUNEDIN The war on cancer in New Zealand has received aii impetus from the generous action of the King in deciding to hand 'back to New Zealand for that purpose the funds gathered for his Silber jubilee gift. The work of the New Zealand branch of the British Empire Cancer Campaign Society is being car*tied on in botli clinic and laboratory, and in a- third field tliere is the work of the radiological physiest. Some review of the activities of the society is appropriate at present, in view of a recent statement by counsel for the Travis trustee in the Supreme Court at Christchurch that the trustee had not been able to find a suitable, outlet for the money, there being an accumulation of £ll,OOO. The British Empire Cancer Campaign was launched in London some 12 years ago, and branches have since been formed throughout the British Isles and the overseas Dominions. The New Zealand branch came into existence six years ago.

Each branch of the campaign has its own laboratory and investigators working on the problem of the cause and cure of cancer. The laboratories of tiic New Zealand branch are at the Otago Medical School, Dunedin, the director being Dr. Andrew Begg. Dr. Begg, after graduating from the Otago Medical School, spent seven years in the Stroud Cancer Laboratories, London, aud some months in the principal cancer institutes of Europe. He has as his assistant Mr. AV. Hall, a skilled technician, also from the Stroud laboratories. Many Varied Experiments. The greater part of the work in the cancer research laboratory during the last six months of 1934 was devoted to investigating the unknown factor which is sometimes present in rous sarcoma, and which, when isolated, is able to abolish the infectivity of a potent extract of that tumour. It is in the laboratory that the problem of cancer must 'be solved, and many varied experiments have been undertaken. For instance, as cancer is rare in the small intestine the investigators at Dunedin considered the possibility that this immunity might be due to the presence there of some substance inhibitory to cancer, such as erepsin. was prepared from a pig’s intestine and incubated on tbo presence of some rous filtrate. On inoculation Into fowls, however, this material proved .to be quite as Infective as the untreated rous filtrate, if not more so. It lias been shown by various observers tliat a soluble substance which inhibits the growth of cancer can be extracted from various normal tissues, such as placenta and embryo skin, as well as from the tumours themselves. In Dunedin, placental and other tissue extracts have been prepared and tested, but as yet with only partial success, and on this point Dr. Begg has reached this conclusion: “Of one thing only can we be' certain, that there is sometimes in tumour and other tissues a factor which is anti-cancerous in its action. Work to isolate this factor is still in progress, as it may well prove of value as an adjuvant to the known forms of cancer therapy.”The laboratory work, however, is but one phase of the work of the New Zealand branch. Five years ago cancer consultation clinics were instituted at the four metropolitan centres. These clinics meet weekly, and the leading surgeons, physicians, pathologists and radiologists give their services free in consultation on every individual case. The Wellington clinic had over 1000 consultations last year. Numbers attend suffering from no more than caucerphobia, and are sent away rejoicing. Others return periodically for further examination. It has been said that the cancer consultation clinics alone have justified the establishment of the New Zealand branch of the campaign. All the cases are recorded aud followed up, and a skilled medical statistician correlates the results for the whole of tlie Dominion. As a result of statistical research, for instance, it has been found that the. Maori race is more immune from cancer than the European. Radiological Work. A third aspect of the work is that being done by tlie radioligieal physicist, Mr. J. A. Strong, M.Se., whose appointment was made possible by the provision of a sum of £5OO per annum by the Travis Trust of Christchurch. After his appointment, My. Strong took a. post-graduate course under Professor T. JI. Laby! of the ehair of natural philosophy in the University of Melbourne. This development followed the fourth Australian cancer conference in Canberra in March, 1933, when the New Zealand delegates were much impressed with the work of the Australian physicists in the accurate measurement and standardisation of the 'output of irradiation apparatus. Tlie physicist’s work is that of the regular inspection and calibration of all deep X-ray therapy machines in New Zealand used for the treatment of cancer, the advising of hospital boards and other authorities on certain physical aspects of radium, the taking charge of the Dominion emanation plant to Wellington, and the carrying out of research as approved by the Medical and Research Committee. In February last Mr. Strong carried out the first tour of inspection and physical calibration of the X-ray plants in the four centres.