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The investigations of Professor Blair Bell and his
co-workers of the Liverpool Cancer Research Organisation
into the nature and treatment of cancer are of
importance. The treatment of the disease by intravenous
injections of preparations of lead has been
carried out in Liverpool on a large scale and with
success in some cases. This treatment, which is at
present only in the early stages of its development,
must not be considered to be a substitute for early
surgical treatment. Other research workers are investigating
the possibility of applying serum treatment,
which has been shown to possess curative properties
in some cases of cancer of animals, to human cancer.
Cancer of the Breast.—The Ministry of Health, on
the 16th September, 1926, issued the fifth of a series
of circulars and memoranda on cancer, the first of
which was published in 1923. The memoranda are
prepared by the Departmental Committee on Cancer
appointed by the Ministry of Health, and their object
is "to summarise in non-technical terms our present
knowledge with regard to the aetiology and incidence
of cancer, and to offer for the consideration of local
health authorities some suggestions which it is hoped
may be useful to them in their efforts to inform public
opinion on this subject."
The 1926 Circular (Circular 716) and Memorandum
deal with cancer of the breast and bring up-to-date and
confirm the statements in the 1924 Circular on the
same subject. The conclusions are based on cases
which have been followed up in England and Wales
during the last 15 years, and "have demonstrated
that the results secured by complete operation at an
early stage are even better, in terms of length of subsequent
healthy life, than had been demonstrated by
the literature."
I shall endeavour to extract some of the important
features of the memorandum.
Cancer of the breast occurs chiefly, although not
exclusively, in women, and causes a higher mortality
among women in England and Wales than cancer of