Review of recent cancer research / by E.F. Bashford.

  • Bashford, E. F. (Ernest Francis), 1873-
Date:
1914
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Review of recent cancer research / by E.F. Bashford. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University.

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    Lecture II. Experimental Study of Tumor Cells Up to the present, tumours of mammals when transplanted into other individuals have grown progressive!}' only in other animals of the same species. An inoculation of a tumour from another species does not alter the suitahility of an animal for the subse- quent transplantation of a tumour of its own species. The claim has been made that resistance could be produced in this latter way; but our very extensive observations show that the constant result is as stated, whereas the occasional and apparent protection obtained after inoculation of strange tumour is ex- plicable by accidental circumstances. If the animals are ill from any cause, c. g., from a too large inoculation dose, Sepsis, enteritis, etc., they are rendered less suitable for transplantation, and an appearance of resistance is produced. This point is of impor- tance because the apparent protection after inoculation of a tumour of a strange species has been used as evidence that the tumours of different species, especially the sarcomata, have some- thing in common in the nature of a parasitic etiology. As a matter of fact the inoculation of mice with transplantable rabbit or rat sarcoma has no effect upon a later inoculation of mouse sarcoma. Thus, the specificity of cancer is ]:)ro\-ed in two ways: by absence of power to grow progressively in a strange species and by failure of a strange tumour to induce resistance to homol- ogous inoculation. The specific character of tumours is, how- ever, brought out even more clearly ])y the induction of resistance by means of the normal tissues of the same species, but not of a strange species. Even in the same species biological differences between tumours can be detected by these methods. If a tumour be inoculated which takes in loo per cent, and all the resulting tumours soon undergo spontaneous healing, the animals will then be found to be completely protected against a re-inoculation of