1959-10-24 — Page 127

THE CHINA MAIL, ́ ́SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1959.

CANCER: how near is the cure?

MAN

[ANY people today are asking the question, can cancer be conquered?

Will this great killing disease ever be controlled?

The answer is-Yes, but only after winning success in many more

hard battles..

This is an individual as well as an international struggle, and each one of us is bound to be interested in the way it is being undertaken by scientists and doctors in many parts of the world.

With what sort of problems are they gropyling?

How many missing links are there to fit into the chain before reached which the solution is will bring health and happiness to many thousands of people in every country of the world?

It is a strange thought that the cell, the basis of life itself hould develop the power to

deilroy,

ENEMY

YET THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS; AND ALL THE EFFORTS OF RESEARCH WORKERS ARE ULTIMATELY DIRECTED TOWARDS THE SUPPRESSION OF THE TEN- DENCY IN A SINGLE CELL TO BECOME THE MALIG- NANT ENEMY OF THE REST OF THE BODY.

The human borly, and indeed the budies of animals, birds and Ash and the structure of, plants, is cumposed of a countless Con- glomeration of cells, of which different varieties are Com- pounded together to form vari- DUS ATKINS and tissues, and these are fused to produce the compite whate.

They vary enormously in elre as well Do In func-

tion.

Tholo which form the muscles o; the limbs are quite different

m the cells of the heart muscle, contracting and relax- ing enevasingly, and on whose living propensities our lives Ik pund.

Yet all these cells have one common-the thing in

power

to nivide inio Two Identical cells.

The cell is surrounded by an envelop, exquisitely fine and

• teate, which is filled with a semi-colla substance known protoplarm.

WONDERFUL

And lying in the protoplasm is the nuclcus, without which

.c cell would dle.

LAW WHICH GOVERNS THIS NORMAL CESS.

some

Many investigations are con- EFFICIENT PRO- cerned with the inhibition of the FOR THE WHOLE growth of cells, and it has been

that CLUE TO THE BEGINNING found

chemical OF CANCER LIES IN THESE agents, such MA the nitrogen mustard compounds, can accom- CELLS.

plish this to a limited extent,

Cancer starts when the cells begin to reproduce themselves in a disorderly fashion which cannot be controlled, and if we understood the process of cell reproduction we should be able fo control it,

fine

carry

There is a host of questions still to be answered and scien- lists all over the world

ore rying to find the answers to them.

How, does the normal celt regulate its division?

Once they become cancerGUIN, Why do cells suddenly, begin cells invade to divide abnormally? -- and these malignant the territories of their neigh- what makes them do this?

penetrato the bours, lymphatic vessels--they

which butbes lymph, the fluid the body Lissues and keeps Chem nourished-and form secondary deposits in the lymph glands,

But this is not all. For they even get into the bloodstream and ale then carried to other srigins and issues, where they cry on their nefarious work.

ADVANCES

During the last decade enor mous advances have been made, not only in the field of medical rulence, but also in the develop- ment of medical and sclentine equipment.

tools now available to scientists And among many important

the electron-microscope. With this powerful instrument it fa now possible. to see the minule and wonderful structures inside the cell.

It is unfortunately true, how- ever, that we know very little About the way some of these werk, nor do we know what motivatus the complicated re- actions of cell division, to say thing of cancerous cell divi- sion.

Very recently, two groups of British scientists have propound- the theory that, whereas the normal tentan cell creates Aure-ilke structures called divides, in certain medical con- chromosomes at the time it

dions the number of chromo- comes in not normal.

In

such one

on of hereditary characteristles different condition it was 47. to the daughter" cells,

When the cell reproduces it-

Now this may seem

to be a long way from cancer, but it is

a beginning.

IRRITANTS

the

What аге

external irritants which can make the cell cancerous?

n

Ꭱ

ARELY has world interest been focused on cancer in the candid way it is today. Rarely have statements about its impact on public figures been so frank. And never has cancer-stripped and disarmed of the superstitious dread which once surrounded it-been discussed so frecly by the ordinary man. Today, in Britain, it accounts for more than 20 out of every 100 deaths from disease. It is now eccond only to heart disease as a killer.

But today, too, there is hope that the first infinitesimally tiny cracks are appearing in the impenetrable armour it has hitherto presented" to the medical armies assaulting it.

r

אן

500 in Japan, 500 in the Soviet

RUSSIA, although tho Union and 1,600 in the USA- Imagination and inventive capaci at an overall cost of £10 mil. ty is undoubtedly there, it in felt Hồn for the whole world. that the political machinery runy It is not possible to estimato require a worker to produce hi the amount of work being ideas too quickly before they are carried out in this field by com- sufficiently developed. marcial firms, and this is kop IN THE UNITED STATES the Included

position of the academic workor But Industries must of necen- is less stable than that of the sity carry out à form of cancer worker in industry, and it is research-first, for the profce- therefore often the case that the tion of their own workers from best brains are lost to industry. cancer-producing agents,

Regrettably, this may apply in Wo have recently

this country, for the provision of danger possible

money to keep research workers, radiations to workers in the especially those with a family to clock luminating Industry, and support, in reasonable security, the precautions taken.

and also the provision of tho Secondly they must ensure facilities in which to work are different formg of enneer, and The newer and enlarging field The SURGEON develops new that their products are not limiting factors.

for of epidemiology is a fascinally techniques does not mean that the

removing the harmful to this

the consumer-the aspect of the research problem.

growth as completely Tobacco Manufacturers' As- dacase la pared on in a family.

us possible. but that the tendency to deve-

sociation has carried out exten- He can also regulate the sive investigations into the pos lop It her be there.

secretions of the glands of the siblo association between

it to Aght its smoking and lung cancer. own disease, body to enable

In the series of articles which starts below, one of the world's foremost thorities on cancer, & British specialist in intimate contact with developments all over the world, reports on the very latest stages of the battle.

Where they prove this they must find a means to prevent

it.

Are certain people immune to cancer? Is cancer caused by a virus? What types of cell oc- cur in different forms of can-

cer, and in what parts of the body do they occur; how do Scientists, biologists, chemists, they react to different forms of doctors, statisticians and many treatment? other workers are in effect Then there is the vast band of politicians

cancer-pducing Carcinogens, We prolonged contact with tar and mineral oils can produce cancer of the skin.

If they cannot prevent a con- flagration they must either pro- tect people from it or, in the last event, battle must be joined with all the resources of the surgeon and the radiotherapist.

study of agents or

know

that

What other substances with which we are in daily contact can do this? Cari We cause This 's. perhaps. D Over- damage by the things we eat simplification of the problem. and drink or by the way 131 For there are many diferent which they are cooked? Do kinds of cancer, and different tobacco smoking or air polla- both of them, cause varieties tend to attack different tion, or parts of the body.

lung cancer?

Not all of these can be treat- ed in the same way, for many Jire resistant to X-mys, and others do not respond to chemi- cal ngearts.

We are searching, therefore, not only for the nature and cause of the disease, but also for new forms of treatment.

TENDENCY

What are the tasks of the

workers who are trying to solve the concer problem? How do they collaborate with each other so that the same ground is not covered over and over again in different countries?

In some wonderful way the

This lo very Important, nucleus controls cell division

condition the especially to the layman, for and contains the material number of chromosomes was he must be sure that the treat- which determines the handing found to be 45, and in another ment being carried out its

country is the

tes best treat- meat in our present knowledge. Cures, and rumours of cures, oan causo

suffering to self it divides into two identi

great patients and their relatives. For cal new cells and the parent For these scientists have found there is as yet no general cure cell disappears entirely.

This is a very orderly process, abnormal at the beginning of its for this disease. and in the normal body a pro- production, and the next step is provide

There is, however, much to per balance is

Encouragement, maintained be- to discover how to restore it to

thousands tween the various issues and normal or control is activities.

of people are altre organs, which ure kept at a It is on the cell, then, that to-day with the disease arrest- high standard of repair and selentide attention must be ed who many years ago would

focused in the final event. And have died. BUT UNFORTUNATELY WE fundamental research is bound

The geneticists are looking DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE up in this problema.

function.

a part of the cell which is

It has been proved that cer- tain types of cancer are more In some countries provalent than in others, and in different races; strange as it may secin, this could be a question of race, creed, colour or environ- ment,

This approach to the problem is being studied in many coun- tries and data is being

ac

cumulated.

ENOUGH?

It may Anally lead to the prevention of certain types of cancer by altering a number of habits and customs of a whole nation or tribe.

Lamour

The RADIOLOGIST develops techniques of detection, RADIOTHERAPIST

new and the new molhods and palliation.

the

A LACK

heard of from

However, progress is being made to solve the cancer problem and we can see gleams of light.

Is cancer Increasing? YES. In 1933, in Britain, 64,271 people died of cancer. In 1958, in Britain, 95,799 people died of cancer.

Is neer contagious?

NO. The Incidence of cancer among doctors and nurses'in constan, contact with cancer

of destruction But a statement of the num-

bers of workers and the patients is no higher than that amount of money involved is for the rest of the population. net perhaps a true picture the value and quality of the work being cartled out.

And the widest field lies open to the CHEMIST, whose drugs can help the body itself to fight the malignant cells and regain its balance once more,

in

How do we stand here relation to the amount of cancer research being carried out in other countries? Is there enough money available

of Is it a discose of mankind

unir?

It does not matter how much money you can spend it the brains are not available to find the answerB

There are political and

factors

which Also

a consideration of

NO. One finds tumours or elephants, opossums, parakeets, on the tongues of whales, and in the stomachs of lobsters.

It?

Do more men than women get

to enable us national to make the maximum effort to enter into

YES. In 1958 in Britain, the solve the problems created by the value of the work being number of men who died from cancer was 50,732. The number this disease?

accomplished.

of women wns 40,007.

Then there is the constant research going on in our hospi- tals. The PATHOLOGIST de- It is estimated that there are IN JAPAN, for instance, in texting the cancer cell at an approximately 400 full and spite of the numbers of scientists carller stage.

part-time research workers in involved there appears to be The CLINICIAN 19 concerned all fields of cancer research in some lack of imagination in with its development and the Great Brliala, us compared with following up new lines of in- history of the patient's disease. 200 in France, 300 in Germany, vestigation.

NOTICE TO STAY

Ir

seems fitting that an episode which was some- what bizarre even for New York should have originated in the Hotel Lafayette. The friend who recommended it to me said: "It's more than just a first-class small hotel, it's an attitude to life. And an attitude," he added, “not altogether common in New York."

The building-demolished now, I believe-contrived to be both ramshackle and elegant. Ita appointments were perfectly modern, yet in the harsh climate of the very early Thirties when I stayed there, it retained a Ninety-ish air-you would hardly have been surprised to see a hansom cab bringing some cloaked and opera-hatted impresario to dine in its delicious restaurant.

No doubt the quality of the food had declined a little on account of Prohibition. No chef can be at his best cooking for people who have come to dinner with their palates scorched by illicit draughts of raw spirits, and cannot have wine on the table.

Typically, however, the Lafayette, and

lived there a couple of weeks and been favourably re- ported on by the staff, would advise you to eat in your private sitting-room and there, blandly ignoring Prohibi- tion, provide you with wine from the splendid cellar they still retained.

for hereditary factors in all the

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· NOVEMBER. 29

58 PREAÏDENT CLEVELAND

GEORGE'S BLOG - 7.CONNAUGHT RE-HONG KONG

I have never known an hotel even the London Cavendish in Rosa Lewis's time -whose character and atmos- nhere were so cherished, vigorously preserved by the staff.

So

If hotel staif members con- siderti you a suitable inmate, nothing you might Bo-such as to run out of mosby and bo unable to

pay the bill or lip anyone for weeks

end reduced their attention or their bonhomie. If they deemed you of the in some way unworthý place, Hie in the hotel became subtly insupportable,

"Here," the porter who looked after my Boor used to say...he came originally from Nice and was known to everyone as Henri "we have a spirit of humanity, of civilisation,"

once you had

Ho was TOST

firm about it, They must dis- miss the idea. They must com. Cinue operating as before.

by CLAUD COCKBURN

Claud Cockburn was born in Peking 53 years ago. Since then he has lived in a good many countries; and spent several years as a foreign correspondent in New York.

A few years ago he abandoned daily journalism for humorous and satirical writing and for fiction.

One of his novels, Beat the Devil, written under the name of James Helvick, was filmed by John Huston with the late Humphrey Bogart in the star role,

- Cockburn now lives in County Cork.

telundan tutdunia lihastes (ONE RENNER

"I don't know. People with a My first approach was to cure for ulcers? Undertakers?" friend whom I will call Harker,

NEXT WEEK: A cure?

cerned could become dangerous- as before. And they refused? 'It was obsurdly ly cross if they thought the Well then, amount of such profils was ringde, they would not leave for being concealed. All this, you Italy but would be arrested and must remember, was in the bad ravied for keeping a speakeasy.

tramcking legally old days. I am told everything and is very different now and as liquor,

Voltaire sald of Paris: "1 am happy to think it may be so."

"This" cald Harker "is a caso' for Tammany Hall"

It b happened that I had The profits did, in point of tack, rise at an astonishing rate. fairly recently done a consider The place was packed every able favour to the son .or night and often during a great nephew-I no longer recall. part of the day. Probably this which-ot a powerful Tammany was because it was new, because Hall boss. We visited him. We had on authentic Italian usked him to arrange for the. atmosphere, and because the police to lay off until there was younger of the brothers, whose time to find someone name I forget, was a really run cur speakeasy.

1

first-rate cook-and thai was a

rarity in all but the very expen- sive speakensies.

a good deal less than a

else to

Foolish hint

Fearing that the memory-of-

"No. but this is serious. It is for fear of embarrassing him in year "Money" had totted up to

more the favour done might not carry the owners of speakeasies. You the solemn position he now oc- an amount which would

iben repay the "syndicate," sulcient weight by itself, I

news

that they play ju- cuples, and from then on t It was in this spirit that,

might say Jitsu with after I had lived there a few its own

the depression, use was Harker, far more knowledge would return the brothers their foolishly hinted that

able weight to their own

about business matters original investment, and pro- paper story about the police months, Heart came to consult

People are so de than I, who did almost all the Vide them with as much as they refusing on illegal ectabilshmont

close itself advantage.

up me about a situation which to pressed they have to driate work. With the result that in a thought necessary for their faro permission to

the would cause interest and sur- described as "all too human, more and more." entirely pathetic."

prise to the public at large.

Call of home

"A reasonable theory. But where do I come in?”.

Well, it appeared that the two lady had been able to save al-

matter of weeks the syndicate had raised the money, the cellar acquired and finally the speakeasy opened.

Settled

home and the purchase of farm. They booked their pas sages and, a few days before sulling date, gave a notably feelive -farewell- party, with all drinks on the house,

'I had to be out of town and

Ho meda no immediate comÍ... ment, but did. after some dis- cussion, agree to our proposition, Do that the lads a few days later did catch their boat..

But before we left that day he muda Q comment which

feature

able

<placde.

A

of the whole

"Teli ne" he said "as a wwwspaper man, what makes you think anyone, could - mako much of a story out of that? What's unusual about it? Who'd bo Interscied or surprised?!!

It seemed that two very young moat all the money with which Italian Immigrants, brothers, they had landed. It was, in fact, working as walters somewhere nearly half of what was needed It hed, of course, been neces. missed the party. But when I in New York had become de- to rent and equip a small, semi- sary to settle matters with the got back next day Harker fold is to me the most remaric- sperately homesick for Italy. Enserment In Greenwich Village pollee, who could not be ex- in the brothers were half crazy with axellement and triumph.. pected to close their eyes to a Henri himself was often home which they thought would be sick for France, and his heart ideal for the purpose in view, totally illegal enterprise unless. A few hours later he had

was the rest to come

they were consulted and proper different story, to tell. bled for them. They wanted at Where the first possible moment to from? The two Italians were financial arrangements made.

There were one or two other The brothers were now half get on a boat for Naples and very sensibly afraid to approach organisations which had to be crazy with alarm and frustra the sort of underworld. charac- seitled with in the same way, ter who might have been inter and when the place was the police officer responsible for Irin polee officer, on learning. ovidently. particularly ested-they thought they would operating Mario, the elder of law and order in that immediate of the havoc he had so nearly now that the Great Depresefon zoon And themselves double- the two lads, who kept the ac- neighbourhood, who had just wrought in two young lives. had melted away all the gold crossed and exploited.

counts, had to take special heart of the farewell party bucke down and sobbed. As lo with which New York's `streets

pains about this side of the businom.

buy a farm.

But

fund boer supposedly paved,

they would have to work for y arrang

years and yours „as walters, be

tion. They had been visited by

I was told that the tough.

He was a comparative new that part of the story, I would comer to the district, and it not venture to say whyher it Each week he ruled parallel emerged that he had paid quite is true or false. fore they could save enough for "But supposing," said Henri columns on the page of his tidy sum to get transferred their purpose. The days when a "you, who know so many people book bel or which was headed there. Now, one of the sources DID IT REALLY, HARPENZ

"Out," which meant grundig from which he expected gradu- walter ompd.rcanorably hope to of sporting instincts, who also make a small fortune in next to love good food and drinks, were spongas another. "Inally to repay himself at mako proat, the thin the transfer worth while, war no time by betting on stone in form, perbapa, a little aya-grow

fourth moricet tips from knowledgeable dicabern

Webbney which was the "Money" of this speakeasy. albers, were over I was myself going Urough a simple form for the net profit that LAW brothers proposed

"And, now phagar of homesickness for wame riboomary to be, “Who,”, meld Heart would Europe at the time, and I my simulous about this, because coolly to shut the place up. you way are, the people having pathised with the end, young, the graft, payments were on

He was very firm about it. the best chance to mak stulae men. I end I would see what percentage owninggrisine with They must dismiss the idea, che

- could be, dorse,

azeri buran dae net prodej RDIO ADORE CORE" "They must) continue operating: An

YES

NO