Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-06-02

Cooperation Of Specialists Through
ous~ths World Needed.

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From the New FORK fiersh.
Or. Nicholas GEM OF Chicago. In his
address on Cancer before the recent Lis
bon international congress, published in the
Journal of the American Medical Associa-
tion. takes reasonably broad view of his
subject and makes strong plea for an
international study of the disease as the
surest means OF settling many Of the points
In dispute regarding Its causation and pos
sible cure. Carcinoma" Cor cancer, he
says, 'is SO common. and. according to
recent statistics, unquestionably on the In
crease. that 1t behooves our profession to
make use Of every possible means and ave-
nue. to discover its real cause and nature
and. having accomplished this. to open up
the way for Its prevention and more sue
cessful treatment"
Such investigation can be carried on only
on large scale by studying the climstic
and topographic relations of the malady.
the racial proclivities to its invasion, the
habits of different people. the influences Of
civilization on Its progress and many other
features of comparatively minor Importance.
In support Of this view he details many In
terestfng factors in the problem that not
merely show the limits of our knowledge OF
the malady but upset various theories re-
garding the supposed factors in its produc-
ton.
Melancholy as It truly Is, the real origin
OF cancer is az yet unknown. No parasite
has been discovered to explain its invasion.
and no treatment short OF the earliest pos
sible use of the knife has given any hope.
Even with the best surgical skill the growth
10 very apt to recur. and in the great ma
9ortty OF patients afflicted with the disease
1t proves fatal within three to five years.
The one promising feature for treatment is
that the ailment II at first always local and
should thus be amenable to early and thor
ough eradication.
only be fundamentally beneficial when the
cause of the affection is positively deter
mined. While we are searching for the
suspected microbe we should also study the
agate 1t. There certainly must be some
predisposing causes Of the disease that by
being better understood will help US more
directly to estimate the common factors OF
general causation. To this end We must
upset some old views and traditions and
seek for new ones Wholesale methods Of
study in all directions will give requisite
help Improved statistics are also needed.
together with the concerted action Of scfen-
tific investigators throughout the world.
''The very unequal geographic distribu-
ton Of cancer over the surface OF the earth
points to local conditions, climatic, racial
and dietetic, which favor or inhibit the
development OF the disease Like lepra,
carcinoma has it's favorite geographic
haunts." For instance, cancer is unknown
In Algeria except as 1t appears in the
European, and Is very rare in the extreme
north and south. 1t occurs with greatest
frequency in the temperate zones of Europe,
Asia and America, is seldom seen In Gen.
trail Africa, the South Sea Islands, Central
America, and scarcely at all in New
Guinea. ut Is a noteworthy fact that
geologically the alluvial soil appears to
constitute local cause, while a chalky or
lime soil exercises an opposite effect"
AS to diet, meat was long considered
prime meter of the malady, but the advo-
Gates of this doctrine have utterly failed
to prove their point, and so with other
special foods. The tomato, once SO much
dreaded. is now freely eaten with impunity.
During his trip last summer to within six
hundred and fifty miles of the north pole.
DR., Sem noted the absence Of tumors
among the aborigines Notwithstanding
these people have lived for unknown CEN
turtles on an exclusive animal diet and do
not know the taste of q single article OF
vegetable food. The North American In
dams in their primitive state were likewise,
for similar reasons, singularly free from
tumor formation of any kind.
On the other hand, the effects Of advanc-
ing civilization may have much to do with
the increase of cancer, but how and in what
form is not yet settled. All these general
questions are of great import. They can
only be settled by the widest methods of
inquiry An international commission OF
experts Is one Of the tangible means to the
end. It only requires proper start. BY
all means let this be made.