The treatment of inoperable malignant tumors with the toxins of erysipelas and bacillus prodigiosus / by William B. Coley.

  • Coley, William Bradley, 1862-1926.
Date:
1895
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The treatment of inoperable malignant tumors with the toxins of erysipelas and bacillus prodigiosus / by William B. Coley. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    ment was extraordinary, but in no case did the tumor entirely disappear. In the sarcoma cases the effect was far more marked, and although in a number of the cases the disease was so far advanced that there could be no possible hope of recovery, still the powerful controlling influence of the toxins was demonstrated, and had the patient’s general condition permitted a prolonged use of the injections, the result might have been otherwise. In three of the thirteen cases the sarcomas have en- tirely disappeared, and although no great length of time has elapsed, the results in my older cases make it improbable that relapse will occur. Of my total of thirty-eight cases of inoperable sarcoma, therefore, nine cases promise to be permanently successful. These can be briefly epitomized as follows : Case I.—A twice recurrent inoperable sarcoma of the neck, with secondary growth, size of an egg, in tonsil. General condition extremely bad ; given by Dr. W. T. Bull three or four months to live. Treat- ment with erysipelas (living cultures) began May 2, 1891. No treatment since October, 1891. Result : Tumor of neck practically disappeared. Tonsil tumor greatly decreased in size, and has still further dimin- ished the past year. The patient regained his general health in a few months, and November 12, 1894, three and one-half years later, remains in good health. Case II. A Large Recurrent Sarcoma of Back and Groin.—Treated at first with living cultures, later with mixed toxins. No recurrence twenty months after cessation of treatment ; and nearly three years since beginning. (This case I have had the pleasure of showing you this evening.) Case III. Large Inoperable Sarcoma of Abdominal Wall and Pelvis.—Treatment begun February, 1893. Result : Almost entire disappearance in two months. Patient has been in perfect health ever since, with no tendency to relapse twenty-two months later. (Ex- hibited at Academy of Medicine, November 15, 1894.)
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