CANCER RESEARCH

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 14 February 1927, Page 5

CANCER RESEARCH

NO NEW VIEWS ON SERIOUS PROBLEM. MEDICAL MEN’S DISCUSSION. (BY TELEGRAPH—PRESS ASSOCIATION.) DUNEDIN, Feb, 12. The public will probably be disappointed at the outcome of the discusr. sion in the Medical Congress on problems associated with cancer,, for no new views were put- forward either in regard to the cause or cure of the malignant disease. Professor P. MeOallum, Melbourne University, uttered a warning against, the extravagant claims made from time to time, and deplored the spurious prominence. given to some of these. He was sceptical concerning the alleged spread of cancer for in many instances an investigation of .statistics showed that the data were insufficient, vitiated for wrongly applied. Some interesting work on heredity in relation to cancer-had been carried out by Miss Slye, who had found out that so far as mice are concerned cancer was dependent on true inherited characters. It was too early yet to pass final judgment on the work of Mr. Gye, whose claim that a -certain form of malignant disease was due to an : ultra-microscopic virus and a chemical specific factor, had been challenged in Liverpool. Dr. Blair Bell had treated patient® with a colloidal form of lead, .and claimed .success, and a great deal of research was being carried out at the result, of Ms ideas. '

Professor Mc-Chllum s'aid it was scarcely possible to draw any useful conclusion from the heterogenous mass of available facts. They knew a great deal about- cancer and radiologisim and honed to know much more in the near future.

Dr. Wi Repa, Gisborne, .said that in his experience cancer was common among Maoris, -although the reverse was held to be the case. He suggested that formerly when Maoris were very warlike people few of the males reached 1 the cancer age. Dr. L. E. Barnett. Dunedin, .said that in recent years there had been an improvement in mortality from cancer of the mouth, breast and uterus, and Dir. A. Norton. McArthur pleaded, for earlier diagnoses’, while Dr. P. IX' Cameron, Wellington, was anxious that every woman suffering from cancer should be examined by la surgeon physician, gnyaecolopist and radiologist. He was satisfied that a great deal of success had been attained by means of deep X-ray therapy.