CANCER RESEARCH

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21982, 17 June 1933, Page 12

CANCER RESEARCH

EXPERIMENTS IN DUNEDIN * .. SATISFACTORY PROGRESS (Per United Pkess Association.) WELLINGTON, Juno 16. Satisfactory progress in the search for the cause and the cure of cancer was reported at to-day’s meeting of the New Zealand branch of the Empire Cancer Campaign Society. At the same time the Wellington division and the Central Committee met. Dr Elliott, who presided, said that New Zealand was playing its part in the world-wide cancer campaign and the world had learned more about cancer in the last 20 years than it had learned in the 30 centuries which covered the recorded history in medicine. Knowledge of the causes of cancer was being gradually crystallised. It was not improbable that the successful treatment would be discovered before the cause. At present early cases of cancer were often curable and hopeless cases could be greatly relieved, the pain greatly lessened and life prolonged. The following delegates to the Central Committee were present; Otago—Sir Louis Barnett, Professor E. D'Ath, and Mr W. B. C. Reid; Canterbury—Sir Hugh Acland and W. S. Newburgh; Auckland—Dr W. Young and Dr O. H. Morice; Wellington—Dr J. S. Elliott, Dr P. P. Lynch, and Mr P. Fraser, M.P. Dr A. M. Begg, the society’s medical research officer, submitted a report upon the work carried out at the cancer research laboratory in Dunedin. He pointed out that owing to the extreme complexity of the problem several months might elapse before any result, affirmative or negative, was achieved. The investigators’ courage and tenacity had been taxed to the extreme _ as_ regarded the experiments and studies in immunity. It seemed at least true that partial and sometimes complete resistance could be produced by the inoculation of mouse tumor extract into other animals. At the annual meeting of the New Zealand Society Dr Elliott was re-elected president, Sir Louis Barnett and Sir Hugh Acland vice-presidents, and Mr K. Darroch secretary and treasurer. Sir Louis Barnett paid a high tribute to the research work being carried out by the society. It was only right, he said, that the public should know of the great work that was being carried on and the good use that was being made of the funds generously subscribed by the people of the Dominion. Sir Hugh Acland expressed similar views. . ' ■ , . It was decided that the next annual meeting of the society be held at Christchurch.