RADIUM AND ITS USES

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLI, Issue XLI, 15 October 1921, Page 10

RADIUM AND ITS USES

RADIOLOGISTS' WARNING

The following statement was recently issuud by the Council of the British Association for the Advancement of Radiology and Physiotherapy, a body of medical mon which, includes the great ' majority of radiologists in London and the country: , lv view of the publicity, Jihat has boon given to radiotherapy jji fhe treatment of cancer by the publication of laudatory articles in the medical and lay press, and the extraordmary claims' that have been put forward by the authorities of the Wtest London Hospital, it seema advisable that a considered statement on th« use of these agents should be made. The treatment reforred to has not yet been thoroughly tested. It possesses great potential dangers, and may not prove as effii cacious as the claims now made would i suggest. In the nature of the case, however, no certainty can bo arrived at' for some years. The unwarranted laud-' ution of this change in technique will probably lead to a reaction, and bring discredit upon X-ray treatment in general. j The claim put forward by the Erlangon school is that by means of special method it is possible to admin-1 istor a dose of X-rays wluch will cure cancer in one application. This claim . is commented on as follows by a leaderwriter in the Lancet of July 2, 1921:— "It will be seen that the suggestion in tho lay press that cases of malignant disease should go to the radiologist immediately tho diagnosis is made, and [ before operation, is baaed on tho ob- j servation of competent observers. Thero j is littl* doubt that tho time has come i for us to reconsider our position in | dealing with tho situation. ( This we regard as a most ill-advised pronouncement, and we emphatically > disagreo with tho conclusions expressed. The time has not yet como ,when radiotherapy may be. regarded as the first choice in the treatment of the majority of cases of cancer. We Wioye that, of any single method, surgery still offers the best prospect of euro in nearly all cases of cancer, and that until much more convincing proof of tho efficacy of X-rays or other form |of radiation is forthcoming it would be | extremely dangerous to encourage patients to trust to X-rny treatment alono for.the euro of these very serious conditions. Tho prospect of successful surgical intervention jought to be in each particular case fully discussed. We arc, however, of the opinion that a closer co-operation between the surgeon and the radiologist would lead to a clearer appreciation of the value of radiation in treatment, and that in all cases both surgery and radiation therapy should be fully considered, with' a view to making the fullest use of both. Combined treatment offers the greatest hope of success. Tho methods employed in this country up to *the present have given promising results. They have been forked out for use in conjunction with surgery, and it would be unwise to abandon them before we are assured that the more intensive form of treatment will give the patient an increase of favourable chances. It should be clearly stated that radiologists in this country have, during the past few years, so far perfected their technique that the risk of an injury tp the patient-is now small, provided that his treatment is under the direction of a medical man of wide experience in this class of work. The matter is receiving the most serious consideration, and the .public may rest | assured that if the prospects held out by the more drastic procedure prove to be better than those.off^bdjby existing methods full adyanta^gpfjlKbe taken of it in this country.;' 11.'% In our opinion the r|«il contribution to progress on the partpf the Erlangen school is that they ha% employed in suitable quantities X-r«iys of a higher penetration than that hitherto used, and have also carefully eystematised already known methods of measuring dosage. Whether or not these rays ultimately prove superior in all cases to those 'of Teas penetration, this is an achievement for which they will always be entitled to credit. It is unnecessary to import the apparatus from Germany; several firms in this country are now making the requisite equipment, so that difficulty in obtaining plant will not be a bar to research. In conclusion, we wish to say once more how much it is to be regretted that hasty opinions on medical matters should be given wide publicity. Such pronouncemente, unless authoritatively traversed, could not fail to be harmful to the future of radiology, in that they raise the hopes which are far from certain of realisation.