Evening star., 1939-08-27
Evidence Of Mystery
Cancer Place Fixer'
In Body Reported
Malignant Growths
Found to 'Gruvitute'
To Breast
BY THOMAS r. HENRY,
, Star stan Correspondent.

BY THOMAS r. HENRY,
star sta1 Correspondent.
EDINBURGH, Scotland. Aug.
.26.-Evidence for the existence Of a
"place fixer" in the highly heredi-
tary cancer of the breast was pre-
sented before the World Genetics
Congress- meeting here today, by
DR.. N. Observation-Disclosures Of
Paris.
He described experiments with
more than 5000 animals, about half
from cancerous strains and the
others from families supposedly
highly resistant to malignant
growths. All were treated with
agents known to produce cancer
coal tar products, various parasites
and radium. In both the resistant
and the non-resistant animals he
found, as was expected, a high in
cidence Of various cancer types at
the points where the external agents
were applied and these growths were
nearly always, as also was expected,
SpeClIlC Ill ty pc.
He found occasionally in his
hereditary strain, he pointed out,
cancer of the same cellular type as
the breast cancers at the site where
the irritation was applied. Appar-
emily the malignant agent was able
to produce these growths almost
anywhere, provided it had the right
constitutional background upon
which to work.
Mysterious Agents at Work.
But in the vast majority of cases,
he stressed, these breast cancers
continued to develop from the epi-
thelial cells of the mammary glands,
regardless of where the cancer pro-
ducing agent was applied. This
proves, he said, the existence OF
some mysterious agent in the body,
differing from both hereditary dis
position and cancer producing po-
tentiality, which determines where
q malignant growth shall take place.
Without this modifier, whose ma
ture is as yet entirely unknown, the
hereditary factors are helpless.
This may open the way, he pointed
out, to an entirely new approach to
one of the most prevalent of all
types of cancer since, if the placer"
can be located, highly susceptible In
dividuals may be transformed into
highly resistant ones.
While certain types OF cancer are
undoubtedly due to hereditary fac
tors and others almost entirely to
environmental factors such as coal
tar products, reported DR.. G. M.
Bonser of the University OF Leeds,
there is growing evidence that even
susceptibility to outside agents is
determined by factors which are
, passed on in families.
Earlier Development Noted.
When the tar products are applied
to two different strains OF mice, he
said. both will develop the charac-
teristic malignant growths. but one
very much earlier than the other.
The same results have been found
when certain female sex hormone
products, which cause cancers in
tissues removed from the site OF
actual injection, are used.
The hereditary factors working
with the two cancer producing
agents must be quite different, he
pointed out, and there is some evil
dence of an actual inverse relation
ship between them. That is, high
susceptibility to skin cancer from
the coal tar products is accom-
panied by low susceptibility to breast
cancer from the hormone products.
That malignant tumors are the
result of specific "mutations'-are
changes in the hereditary character
of cells carried on through the di-
vision process-was the thesis pre-
sented to the congress by DR.. j. P
: Lockhart- Mummery and DR.. r. j
Ludford of London. The only posi-
Bile form of mutation occurring in a
cell which would be observable or
of any practical Importance, said
DR.. Lockhart- -Mummery, must con-
sist of, or be accompanied by, an
increased rate of division as COM
pared with the normal for that cell
Should this happen, he said, in the
course of time an island colony OF
such mutaJed cells would form
among the normal cells and tumor
would be produced.
Sees Theory as Acceptable.
This theory" he said, appears to
at all the facts known about tumors
at the present time. 1t explains
oAl1 ie <AI <N
q tumor CELL 1t does not attempt
to explain the causes of this change
It is not opposed to the virus theory
of tumors, since the latter attempts
to explain the cause of the change
and not the way in which it works
The difference between innocent and
malignant tumors, it is suggested
depends upon the growth rate OF
the tumor cells"
Further evidence for this mutation
hypothesis, said DR.. Ludford, Is
found in the fact that, once estab-
lished cancer cells are so highly
specific for the animal species ano
precise parts of the body.
Thus, he said, "the malignant cell,
Of different tumors exhibit wide
variations in their rate of growth
and degree of cellular differen.
tiation. The cells of various strain.
Of transplantable cancers each ex.
hibit their own specific characters
which are retained after prolonged
periods of transportation in ami.
mails and growth in tissue cultures.
There seems no way to accoun