CANCER CONFERENCE

Shannon News, 30 October 1928, Page 1

CANCER CONFERENCE

SIE T. HOEDER SUMS UP. THE LESSONS LEARNED. LONDON, Aug. 12. Sir Thomas Horder, in an interview, summed up the lessons, of the conference organised by the British Empire Cancer campaign/ attended by leading experts of eighteen nations. •'Perhaps tno most important lesson emerging from the discussions," he said, "is that the most successful treat-* ment is still in the sphere of surgery and radiology, and that at this stage of our knowledge we cannot throw over known metnods of dealing with the disease for those the value ot which has still to be demonstrated.

'We are still very much in the dark. The parasite theory—that cancer is a microDic process —is still the favourite hypothesis, and may yet, despite epoch-making work of Dr. James Muiv phy (Mew iork) and his collaborators, prove to be correct. Dr. Murphy's contribution to this part of the subject has been the most sensational of all the papers handed in during the conference. He nad adduced reasons for regarding the actual cause of some cancers at least as being somewhat of the nature of a chemicai ferment. Discoveries. Cause Interest."

"These researches have been done on chickens. In -a susceptible strain of these birds the injection of this 'agent' can be made to reproduce the chickentumour with great constantcy. Dr. Murphy's new 'discoveries lie in the direction of- showing" that this 'agent' has properties that seem to remove it from -the category of microbes, and it was'these idiscoveries that caused so much interest at'the: conference. * . «

'' The second point .brought out at the 'Conference is the importance ..; of curly: diagnosis.?. If until the caneerpatient is ill"we"have waited too long. Discovery-of--the presence of the* disease should be made„at the earliest possible moment, and the only way of doing this is by careful attention to early symptoms.* Inasmuch as certain symptoms have a special significance to the experienced doctor, it behoves anyone in doubt about his health to seek competent advice: \ "Internal cancer is a much more, serious problem than, external cancer; the .stomach and the bowel present/a 1 more. difficult and a more subtly prob:, lem than growths on- the surface of ; the body. It is essential .that, we doctors should familiarise ourseivesT stilT more with special instruments which supplement our ordinary clinical examination of . the patient. X-rays examinations have been of enormous service in early diagnosis, and no doubt the radiologist's technique will continue to improve in the near future. The Lead Treatment. "With regard to treatment by chemotherapy —the use of certain heavy metals, for example —the remedy which lias been most exploited of late hits been lead. One of the most animated of the sessions was that at-which this, subject was introduced by Professor Blair Bell, who has given great thought and spent much time over it. The preparation of lead now in use is probably not the last word in the choice of the drug. It is a question of improving the remedy, and we may have with lead an experience similar to that wfc«i <6OG,' the remedy for syphilis. »The first preparations this drug used were highly toxic, and some of the patients undoubtedly died as the result of its injection, but it has now been so much improved that it is in everyday use and cau be safely administered by any careful doctor. If lead, or some other substance, were improved to this extent and made capable of bringing about resorption of cancer cells, it j would be very valuable, partly because j some eases of cancer are inoperable and j because there is too often a feat of re- | currence of the disease even after surgery or radiation has been successfully r'sed."