The treatment of malignant tumors by repeated inoculations of erysipelas : with a report of ten original cases / by William B. Coley.

  • William Coley
Date:
1893
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The treatment of malignant tumors by repeated inoculations of erysipelas : with a report of ten original cases / by William B. Coley. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Physicians and Surgeons, and to Drs. Ferguson and Biggs of the New York Hospital Laboratory, for kind assistance and laboratory facilities. [Note.—Since the above paper went to press I have continued my experi¬ ments, with the following results: I have had one fatal case of erysipelas in¬ oculation a large inoperable sarcoma of the neck. The patient was sixty-five years of age, and his general condition had been greatly impaired, both by the disease and by a very extensive operation a short time before. Attenuated cul¬ tures having failed to produce any reaction, a fresh culture from a virulent case was used. A severe attack of erysipelas followed, to which the patient suc¬ cumbed on the fifth day. In this short period a marked change had taken place in the tumor. No breaking down had occurred, yet it was less than half its former size. Toxic products. During the past month I have been using a preparation of the toxic principles of erysipelas in four cases of inoperable sarcoma. The injections have been made into the tumor itself, and repeated every forty- eight hours. The reaction has been almost identical in character with that produced by true erysipelas, though milder in degree, and it has always passed away within twenty-four to forty-eight hours. The temperature has never risen above 103£°, and has usually dropped to normal the following day. I have frequently made use of the toxic products of the bacillus prodigiosus in combination with the products of the erysipelas coccus, to intensify the action of the latter, and always with the desired effect. (This peculiar action Of the one germ upon the other, I may add, was noted by Roger in his recent experiments on rabbits.) Every one of my four cases of sarcoma has shown a marked and progressive decrease in the size of the tumor, and in one case {vide paper, Case VI.) a sar¬ coma of the back and groin, the tumor has entirely disappeared, and the injections have been stopped. The patient has regained his normal weight (one hundred and sixty-five pounds) and has returned to work. These results have been so encouraging that, for the present at least, I have decided to use the toxic products of erysipelas in preference to inoculating the germ itself. The advantages of so doing are very great. The necessity for isolation is avoided, and the action of the products can be so carefully regulated that the danger element can be entirely eliminated.]