The New York herald., 1921-10-30
DR.. f. G. Wood Believes
There Can Be No Certainty
for Next Ten Years.
USEFUL IN ONE TYPE
Solution, He Thinks, Lies in
Combination Of Surgery,
Radium and X-Ray.

Auo Ac" Picoiocill VI til0 <11ucrlCdI
College OF Surgeons. DR.. John 3.
Deaver, answered that question most
pessimistically when he addressed that
body in Philadelphia on October "a.
He told of instances in which radium
had failed when it was, most sorely
needed He thought that In many
cases it had worked more harm than
good
Il almost hesitate to express" he
said, "the fear have that nothing
can be looked for from radium in the
future to be Of any advantage in the
treatment Of cancer"
Such is the view Of a well known
surgeon. THE NEW YORK HERALD
asked DR.. Francis Carter Wood what
he thought Of IL. DR.. Wood, a noted
pathologist, is director Of the Institute
of Cancer Research at Columbia Uni
versity and an attending physician Of
st. Luke's Hospital. His life work is
the study Of cancer. He uses the
X-ray and radium in his own practice
in certain classes of cases. Surgical
cases he turns over to surgeons.
Five Year Period as Test.
He Is himself conservative in his
Judgment Of the results of the ray treat
ment, but he has found that 1t works"
under certain conditions, and he says
that "a combination OF surgery. the
X-ray and radium will probably be gen.
orally adopted In the future"
I'VE cannot be dogmatic," DR.. Wood
said. what radium will do we don't
know, for In studying its effect on cancer
We have to wait many years to find out
whether the cancer has been cured.
Surgeons generally hold that a period Of
1--WE years must elapse after an operation
before they can be sure the patient Is
all right. Occasionally late return is
seen after cancer has been quiet for
hve years following an operation. but
the fvo year period is commonly ac-
ccpted as test.
''It has been scarcely five years, how
ever, since the use Of largo quantities OF
radium IN the treatment Of tumors be-
gan. The same IL true OF the X-ray.
We cannot be dognatic about either OF
them, for cases have not been subjected
70 the modern treatment and technique
long enough to justify final statement.
Such a statement probably cannot be
made until ten years from now.
There is no question that radium
has cured some--ycs. many-tumors OF
The face when used in sufficient
quantity and In the proper manner.
Probably nine-tenths of cancers Of the
face can be cured by either radium or
the X-ray. The other tenth. though
they look like the rest. are found to be
very resistant. and 1t Is much better
to cut them out. Examining this re-
fractory one-tenth under the micro
scope. we find little different kind
OF cell in the cancer; a kind that re-
sists radiation treatment. But it Is
difficult to Judge the result of the
treatment OF even such face tulnors.
seen them return nine or ten years
after their removal by freezing or the
application Of caustics.
This shows why We must walt so
long and be so conservative In our
statements. Experimental work with
cancers in mice shows 1t. too. We have
found that exposing mouse to heavy
dosage OF radium slows down the
growth OF the tumor so that instead Of
reappearing in week. as 1t might
otherwise do. ii does not reappear for
three months. And three months in
the life OF mouse is equivalent to ten
years III the lifc OF a human being.
Internal Cancer Treatment.
"A large number Of tuYnors which,
grow about the bones and joints cannot
be cured by radiuin or the X-ray in any
quantity. as they require larger doses
than the surrounding tissues can stand.
The same is true of many internal cam
cers-for example, in the lungs. the
stomach. the liver or the intestines. For,
4: we apply to n tumor In these regions
a dose sufficient to kill all the cancer
cells the radiation will so damage the
res: of the body that the patient will
die There Is at present no undisputed
record showing that any internal cancer
has been permanently cured by either
radium or tho x-ray. II we except a few
Instances of cancer Of The womb. There
arc hundreds of cases in which the
patient is apparently well two or three
years after the application. but this is
not sufficient period Of time to justify
us In regarding the cure as certain.
''The dosage OF radiation required to kill
cancer cells has been determined in the
Crocker research laboratory by experi-
ments with tumore In animals. In some
cases 1t Is quite low. and tumors Of this
sort In tho human body could be de-
stroyed. But the trouble is that by no
means yet known can you determine be-
f,rehand which tumors Will remain
cuiescent a long time after treatment
or will permanently disappear. We have
no means. microscopic or otherwise, of
deciding whether q tumor will disap-
pear or whether IL will resist the rays.
Therefore. since We do know that
surgery VIII accomplish certain definite
things that certain number of cam
GERS OF tho stomach, intestine~. breast,
lip. and 30 on. will remain permanently
cured after removal, no physician feels
to-day that - eco
radiurn or the x-ray as a substitute for
surgery where the tumor can be atis-
factorily and permanently rem>v d.
Consequently the x-ray and radium
treatment should be reserved, with the
e.ception Of the mild cancers Of the
face. for those cancers Will are not
susceptible to surgical treatment.
what the f''-rr ~.i'f i,c - 5~ 49,.
know. But you remember that Prof.
Simon Newcomb prophesied that -obody
would ever be able to fly. This was just
before the Wrights began their x,e' T.
nlcnts at Kittyhawk. In fact, Prof. New
comb proved automatically that flying
was impossible. The trouble was with