Cancer Conclusions

Since 1900, some 3,500,000 people in the U. S. have been struck by cancer. Most, of them died of it. Last week the knowledge doctors have gleaned from these victims was collected in three massive volumes: Treatment of Cancer and Allied Diseases (Hoeber; $36). Edited by Drs. George Thomas Pack and Edward Meakin Livingston of Manhattan's Memorial Hospital, this pooled knowledge of top-flight specialists gave doctors a storehouse of practical information.

But for laymen, the 21 pounds of charts, diagrams, photographs, mortality tables, minute surgical instructions, all boiled down to the hard conclusions of the No. 1 U. S. cancer expert, Memorial's Director James Ewing. Said he: "Too much has been expected from the modern advances in the diagnosis and treatment of established cancer. Too much should not be expected from the prevention of cancer. ... It is certain that efforts in this field have thus far been quite desultory and inefficient. . . . [No] new curative agent or method will be found in the near future. . . . The only successful methods of treatment [are surgery, radium applications or X-ray], and this means removal, not cure in the real sense. Cancer is the greatest of all the hazards of living. . . . It will probably always remain in this position of importance and may even become much more prominent as a cause of death."

Contrary to popular opinion, said Dr. Ewing, cancer cells are very like normal cells in growth and structure. (This opinion was amplified last week by Pathologist Balduin Lucke of the University of Pennsylvania, who planted cancer cells in a frog's eye, studied the cell growth under a microscope. Cancer tissue, said Dr. Lucke, does not bloom wildly, but spreads "in definite, well-defined patterns.")

Dr. Ewing firmly believes that all adults should have frequent medical examinations, so that young cancers, especially those of breast and skin, can be nipped in the bud. "Yet there are no early symptoms in cancer of the esophagus, stomach, rectum, intestines, pancreas, kidney, lungs, and other internal organs. ... In such cases . . . which constitute 65% of all cancers . . . little or nothing can be expected from curative medicine under any circumstances."

Although many researchers are seeking a universal chemical test to show up the presence of early cancer, "there is no rational basis for the hope that any such test will ever be found. The early cancer process is local . . . and there is certainly no evidence to show that it excites any specific reaction in the body or disseminates any peculiar substances into the blood."

All the skill of U. S. surgeons "has failed to affect the recorded death rate from the major forms of cancer." Operations on advanced internal cancers save few lives.

Cancer of Esophagus and Stomach. In the U. S., most cancer occurs in the digestive tract. Main cause: too much tobacco and alcohol, improper chewing, constant gulping of hot foods, irregular meals, tooth diseases. Early excision of stomach cancers brings excellent results, said Drs. Livingston and Pack, but it is almost impossible to detect such cancers while they are still small.

Breast Cancer. About one-tenth of all cancers occur in the breast. Although mammary cancer is a preventable, curable disease, only one-fifth of the victims are saved. Reason: if not caught in time, the cancer spreads to shoulders and lungs.

Main causes of breast cancer are chronic mastitis (inflammation), and stagnation of milk or other secretions. Somehow breast cancer is related to high-speed ovaries, and latest statistics show that it may be more common in women who do not nurse their children. If a little cancerous node is detected early, it can be easily removed and the disease checked. But in advanced cases the breast must be amputated, all the lymph glands leading to the shoulder and arm must be carefully tied off or removed.

Despite delicate new surgical techniques, said Drs. Livingston and Pack, operations for advanced breast cancer are no more successful today than they were 20 years ago. In fact, the death rate has doubled.

Skin Cancer. Most skin cancer could be prevented. All moles, warts, cysts, burn scars, chronic infections and irritations "should be regarded with suspicion." Exposure to sunshine is a hazard only if it continues day in, day out, year after year, as in the case of farmers and sailors. Best protection against skin cancer: "soap, water and scrubbing."

Cancer of the Uterus. Lacerations, erosions and inflammations of childbirth may easily develop into cancer. Most uterine cancer occurs in women who have borne five or six children. The use of irritating antiseptics in the vagina, and excessive activity of ovarian hormones, may also stimulate cancerous growths. Often uterine cancer develops with amazing rapidity, within a few months after labor. Only periodic pelvic examinations will reveal such early cancers.

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