The Savannah morning news., 1901-05-10
CANCERS GERM IDENTIFIED.
The Dread Disease Comes From an
Animal Parasite.
From the Philadelphia Press

From the Philadelphia Press.
The widespread interest among the
members of the medical profession in the
reported discovery of the identity of the
germ of cancer, by DIR. Henry r. Gaylord
OF the New York State Pathological Lab
oratory, connected with the University of
Buffalo. has caused an equally strong de-
sire for knowledge in the minds of the
public. While DR.. Gaylord's first an
nouncement was received with degree
OF lncredulity on the part of his profess
sional associates, his subsequent work
has convinced many of the scoffers that
there may be more in his theory than has
been thus far demonstrated
AS early as 1899 DR.. Gaylord presented
before the New York State Medical So
ciety a preliminary report in which he
foreshadowed the announcement of the
discovery of a specific parasite capable
of producing cancer. Since the appearance
Of that communication the medical world
as we'll as the reading lay popula ton has
waited with patience the appearance OF
the final report that would establish be-
yond a doubt that the cause of this most
dreaded OF all diseases-cancer-had been
discovered and that. therefore, a scientific
basis could be established upon which
future work might be done with the OBJ
Ject Of curing this heretofore almost I'M
conquerable enemy.
In the American journal of the Medi-
cal Sciences" for May, 1901, DIR. Gaylord $
report is published in full. He comes to
the conclusion that cancer is due to a
form of animal parasite known as a proto-
soon, which he has christened the proto-
Zoon Of cancer The protocol are unicel-
lular animal parasites belonging to the
lowest order of the animal kingdom. Mem
bers of the protocol family have already
been recognized as causes of a number OF
Diseases one form of dysentery has been
satisfactorily demonstrated to result from
infection by member of the protocol
group, and number of diseases resemb-
ling cancer i'm, some ways, are now re-
garded as of protozoal origin. BY some
authorities the, organism that causes ma
laria is regarded as a protozoon.
Not New Parasite.
The foregoing statements briefly indi-
cate the diversity of conditions that may
result from infection by protocol and it
is not improbable that many diseases, the
causes of which have escaped most care
full study, will be found to owe their
origin to some form of invasion by these
parasites. In DIR. Gaylords article he re-
views the work of others upon which, fol-
the most part, his observations have
been based. DR.. Gaylord makes no claim
to the discovery of a new parasite for
cancer, but believes that he has traced
out many heretofore unrecognized steps
in evolution of the organism.
One of the most important of his obser.
vations is based upon a case operated
upon by DR.. Roswell Park, professor Of
surgery in the University of Buffalo. This
ratiant had cancer NJ tho inside IF tbc
abdomen and at the operation fluid was
collected under aseptic precautions, and
this was later inoculated into guinea pigs
The patient died eventually of cancer
and the diagnosis was corroborated by
careful post-mortem examination. The
guinea pigs were killed ffty-six and for
ty-nine days after some of the cancer
duid had been injected into their bodies
In the first guinea pig the lungs were
found to contain cancer nodules varying
in size from pinhead to a grain of rice
The cancer bodies were found not only
in the lungs. but also in other organs
From the peritoneum of this guinea pig
another was inoculated in the jugular
vein and, in the second, cancer was also
produced
There are other experiments from which
DR.. Gaylord believes that he has success
fully esta blished that he can produce can
Ger by incubation with fluids containing
the parasite. The extreme minuteness OF
the parasite may be imagined better than
appreciated, by the fact that 1t is from
ono six-hundredth Q-60O to one six-thou-
sandth Q-60oO of an inch in diameter. II
has near it's center body that looks like
nucleus surrounded by a layer of pro-
toplasm, external to which there is cap
sule. This capsule is sometimes folded
over upon itself and is clearly a part OF
the parasite. Sometimes the nucleus pos
sesses a body resembling a bud which
would indicate reproduction by budding.