Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-09-05

uCduly cIiSLly-CdtlCCI- nc"
sulting from work of medical
scientists of the Atomic Energy
Commission.
This is reflected to some ex-
tent in treatment, although
Lost Of Series.
there has been no major break
through such as was predicted
by some before the complica-
tions of radiation were entirely
appreciated.
Recent accomplishments in
the general cancer territory
have just been reported. Their
full significance lis not pre-
dictable.
Can Destroy Gland
One such accomplishment is
the total destruction of the
pituitary gland at the base OF
the brain. This gland secreteS
into the blood stream sub
stances controlling growth.
Cancer is largely a phenomenon
of abnormal. unregulated
growth and the pituitary is
blamed for several types of
malignant neoplasm. These in
clude breast cancers of women
and prostate cancers of men.
The pituitary is destroyed by
surgical implantation of very
minute amount of the radio
active isotope, yttrium 80. The
operation is done under local
anaesthesia and takes only a
few minutes, in striking con-
trast to the lengthy and difh-
cult surgery hitherto required.
The procedure, says the re-
port, seems especially suitable
for patients in advanced stages
of the disease.
Implanted Anywhere
The great apparent value of
radioactive isotopeS is that they
can be implanted almost any
where in the body to destroy
local tissue. Several new iso-
TOPICS have shown great promise
in this field.
Notable among these is palla-
dunn 103 which emitS X-rayS,
has a relatively short life, and
not much penetrating power.
Thus it can be implanted where
the major effect is on maligantI
tissue alone, without damaging
surrounding organs. Its major
field, the report says, may be
in treatment of cancer of the
cervix in women which hither-I
to has required extensive sur
gerry.
Development of methods for
using isotopes In sealed tubes
for internal radiation has made
possible a much wider choice of
materials. One such material
howing great promise is
cesium 100, which has a quite
short period of activity and
also can be rather precisely
directed against certain tissue.
Cancer AntibOdies
A quite new field with consid-
cradle promise, according to
the report, is the development
of cancer antibodies in research
at the University of Rochester
supported by the commission.
These antibodies are formed
naturally in the blood stream
to combat foreign tissue intro
duced into the body. Thus
efforts to implant malignant
tissue in 4 healthy individual
usually would be unsuccessful.
The antibodies would destroy
the invader.
The purpose Of this research |
has been to produce antibodies
for specific kinds of cancer. |
Such antibodieS could be made
radioactive, it believed. Then,
when injected into the circu-
lation, they would invariably
seek out the precise sort of
cancer cells they we're intended
to combat and carry 10 them
destructive radioactivity. They
promise to be especially valu-
able in location of little islands !
of malignant tissue which have
broken OF from the main can
Ger focus and deposited almost |
anywhere.
Says the report:
During this reporting peri
cd, radioactive antibody prep
arations we're developed that, |
after intravenous adrninistra-
ton, led for the first time to
concentrations of radioactivity
in animal cancer LESSONS many
times higher than occurred in
normal organs.
Methods have been developed
E;u1;noe Ahou& Ekkar