Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1899-05-20
THE PARASITE
OF CANCER.

A number OF circumstances have COM
blned Of late TO direct the attention OF
the general public to cancer. One IL the
declaration ~ high English authority
that this dreaded maiady IN Increasing
In prevalence in Europe. Another IL a
similar statement ~ Dr. Roswell Park
u buffalo. who r. nj the head OF a state
Institution for the study " contagious
diseases a third ia the announcement
/ from Paris that DR.. Bra has at last
found Tho parasite which has long been
suspected of causing cancer.
IN England and Wales In tho period
between 1870 aud 1896 the death rate
I from canccr increased from one In cv-
I cry b,oiG n population to one In 1 coo
/ The mortality from this cause In New
York state grew from $50, In 1851 TO
1855 In 1875. or nearly doubled In 10 or
I II years. Aud Or. Park In recent ad-
dress before the Stat. Medical society
uttered the following prophecy; III dur
| ina tbe next ten years the relative death
rates are maintained. We shall hnd In
1909 that thorc Will be more deaths from
| cancer Than from consumption, small
pox and typhoid fever combined"
Afain. the fact that the micro organ
ism responsible for carcinoma. IL there
/ be one, has 20 long eiuded the search
made for IL b. not convincing, There
are microbes too small "a be nccn with
tho best Instruments ever made. al
though their existence IL beyond quca.
uon. nut one ~ these days. with i'm
proved optical apparatus. u may he
possible 10 detect them. The same nv.
Rumcht applies 10 countless failures to
cultivate the gerEin u cancer artinoial-
~ Perhaps n more suitable culture
medium. one more nearly resembling tho
human body. may yet BE- discovered, In
which the cancer germ will propagate
easily Improved methods are needed
In this line Of research.
one N the most striking reasons for
suspectlnE that cancer Il contarioun 10
the tendency ~ one particular locality
to BE- haunted by eases " this class.
The frequent occurrence VI the disease
In q family points In the same direction.
Moreover incubation Of animals with
certain Organisms which are not de-
rived from cancer nevertheless gives
rise 10 iumorH that look like malignant
specimens. although they finally disap-
pear.
A different sort ~ experiment. hut n
rather more significant one. II tho
transpiantinE Of bits ~ real tumors
from one animal 10 another of the same
species Rats. horses and dogs have
been treated In this way with notable
results. a great deal OF this sort Of
thing has been done AT MONTPELIER.
France. by Ioscs In Italy by San Feiicc
and Bonciali. and In Vienna by Uursen-
bauer Among the tests were the im-
planting Of portions of cancer from
man who had been dead three days In
one II the d wer animals. hose declares
that he has even been able Ia effect a
successful incubation 81 three human
subjects with cancer. Even were these
last declarations rejected. there would
Htill remain the well known transplant
tatlon u cancer from one part 10 an.
other Of the same person.
Microscopic examination Of canccrous
tissue has often revealed the presence
~ minute objects. about whose real ma
turc opinions diner. one expert aua-
poets that they are a species ~ proto-
goa dow forms Of animal life CORE
spending 10 bacteria and 10 fungi IN the
vegetable world, another takes them
for microscopic fungi. aud third In
disposed 90 regard them as cells Of hui
man origin which have undergone de-
Eonerative changes. Similar objects
| nave NNfi WIN
measles and other diseases. although
their exact character and their relation
TO the malady have been yelled In
doubt.
The announcement that Or. IRA hns
found parasite which can be oultlvat-
ed and which when used 10 inoculate
animals produces tumorr like real can
GERS II accompanied with few details.
The man II not 30 conspicuous In the
world Of science na some other French
bacterioiogirta. hut that does not prove
that he II mistaken.
Dr. nra makes no prctense OF having
found cure Tor cancer. lie has I'M
doriaken experiments such ~ would be
naturally tried by one who was ia
millnr with the mode Of preparing anti
toxinca Tor dlphtheria. tctanus. bubonic
plague and yellow fever. but thus far
without definite results. These meas
ufe. can BE- taken only after the germ OF
a disease r. Identified and IL cultivated.
nut n he has done no more than 90 md
the parasite itself he has achieved a
notable triumph, CONFEDERATION OF his
announcement viii be- awaited imra-
| tlrntly,