CANCER RESEARCH WORK BEING DONE AT SYDNEY UNIVERSITY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18057, 18 January 1927, Page 13

CANCER RESEARCH WORK BEING DONE AT SYDNEY UNIVERSITY.

CAUSE OF DISEASE HAS NOT YET BEEN FOUND. (Special to the “ Star.”) WELLINGTON, January 17. From Sydney University, where he holds the position of cancer research biologist, Dr W. Moffett has arrived in Wellington on his way to Dunedin for the Australian and New Zealand Medical Conference. Before that conference he will read a paper on cancer research. “Sydney University is making an effort to come to grips with the cancer problem,” said Dr Moffett when interviewed to-daj’. “After the University had been working in a small way for three years a considerable sum of money was subscribed six: months ago and a constant potential X-ray generator, costing about £IOOO, was obtained from France. Selected cases are now being accepted for treatment, and at the same time the University is attempting to carry out pure research work.” “Of course we know absolutely nothing about the causes of cancer yet,” remarked Dr Moffett. “Although we have collected a lot of interesting data we haven’t anything definite so far. There is no doubt that prospects of patients can be improved by statistical investigation and by getting them early'to the-surgery.' A lot will be done in the future, and there is no doubt that we must get on to something sooner or later —the problem is being attacked from so many different angles all over the world—but up to the present, although many interesting discoveries have been announced, they have not been substantial. One such was Dr Gye’s recent announcemet of the discovery of a virus. Dr Gye works for the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, but I have not seen that his claims have been borne out. The old idea that cancer attacks the meat eater exclusively has been abandoned. We know that all kinds of animals have been assailed by it. One factor may be that since people live longer they now die of cancer instead of something else, for we know that cancer increases in old age, and though I have not the figures before me I believe the average span of life, which used to be about thirty-six years, has increased by fifteen years. The principal thing which we need is statistical information."’