Cancer: Advanced in Psychology and Biochemistry

by National Cancer Institute

(Page 4 of 9)

1859 -1929

FROM 1900 TO WORLD WAR II, great strides were made in understanding the structures, functions and chemistry of living organisms. Drugs to combat infectious diseases were developed, and x-rays were used to diagnose and treat illnesses. Cancer research in cell culture, chemical carcinogens, diagnostic techniques and chemotherapy firmly established oncology as an experimental science.

Radiotherapy: Irradiation as Treatment

Radium and x-rays were enlisted in the battle against cancer early in this century. Their first uses on humans were inconclusive, but tests on animals soon yielded the promising news that x-rays harmed rapidly multiplying cells more than others. Thus it was found that x-rays selectively damaged cancer cells, causing less harm to other tissues. As safe levels of dosage were determined, the therapy became standard.

A Genetic Explanation for Cancer

An early 20th-century theory that would reemerge as an important area of research later in the century held that cancer was due to abnormal chromosomes. Its leading advocate was professor of zoology at Wurzberg, Germany, Theodor Boveri.

The First "Wonder-Drugs"

Discoveries concerning infectious diseases and microbes late in the 19th century spurred the early 20th-century search for chemical weapons to fight illnesses. Through trial and error, the new science of chemotherapy produced natural and synthetic drugs to cure a number of diseases. While not effective against cancer, the new drugs encouraged researchers to continue the pursuit of chemical means to control cancer.

Experiments in Search of Cancer's Causes

Throughout the early decades of this century, researchers pursued different theories of the origin of cancer, subjecting their hypotheses to systematic experimentation. A viral cause of cancer in chickens was documented in 1911, and both chemical and physical carcinogens were conclusively identified. Chromosomal abnormalities were also investigated as possible causes of cancer.

Bringing Cancer Into the Light of Day

A need to combat rising public fear and ignorance concerning cancer led in 1913 to two significant events: publication of the first known article on cancer's warning signs in a popular woman's magazine, and formation of a nationwide organization dedicated to public education on cancer.

New Ways to Test Theories: Advances in Experimental Techniques

As investigations into the nature, causes and treatment of cancer, multiplied, new experimental techniques and laboratory methods came into use. In addition to the electron microscope and other new tools, specialized procedures such as growing cells in test tubes and breeding particular strains of mice soon became standard elements of research.

Chemical Carcinogens

The cancer-causing potential of chemicals had been suggested in the 18th century with Percivall Pott's observations on the high rate of cancer among chimney sweeps. Theory became fact in 1915 when experiments confirmed that cancer could be induced by chemicals.

Sun and Radium: Tracking Physical Carcinogens

Physical carcinogens were positively identified early in the 20th century. Some, such as the sun, had long been suspected as a cause of skin cancers. Others were more obscure and required investigative skills as well as laboratory tests.

Cancer Statistics

As experimental research on the nature and causes of cancer moved forward, the first reliable statistics on the incidence and mortality rates of cancer were compiled. This effort was undertaken in part to determine whether or not the disease was becoming more common, as it appeared to be.

The National Cancer Institute Is Founded

1930 - 1950

RESPONDING TO PUBLIC PRESSURE and a concerted campaign by the American Society for the Control of Cancer, Congress in 1937 made the conquest of cancer a national goal with a unanimous vote to pass the National Cancer Institute Act. This Act authorized annual funding for cancer research, and established a National Advisory Cancer Council to review all research. The Institute was expected to break new theoretical ground by conducting its own research, promoting research in other institutions and coordinating cancer-related projects and activities.

NCI Formed from Existing Labs

NCI's first staff was assembled through the 1939 merger of the two Public Health Service research labs dealing with cancer-the Office of Cancer Investigations at Harvard, and a pharmacology division of NIH in Washington, DC. The two laboratories relocated in NCI's new Bethesda quarters.

Cancer Research and Fundamental Science

NCI reorganized in 1946 to reflect the Institute's growing commitment to fundamental science. Six new units were formed: biology, biochemistry, biophysics, chemotherapy, epidemiology and pathology. A further reorganization in 1948 resulted in three NCI units: cancer control activities, intramural research and extramural research.

Advances in Surgery

General improvements in surgery in the 20th century-better control of shock, blood transfusions, and antibiotics-have permitted more extensive surgery against cancer. Analysis of cure rates has nonetheless raised questions of the value of more radical surgery, suggesting that rehabilitation receive more emphasis.

Cancer Chemotherapy on the Horizon

From the turn of the century to World War II, the standard treatments for cancer were either surgery, the age-old approach, or radiation therapy, the new technology. The drugs and chemicals that had proved so effective against other diseases were still helpless against cancer. Discoveries made in the 1940s, however, demonstrated that cancer was not invulnerable to drug and chemical compounds.

Postwar Cancer Treatment and Research

Coincident with widespread use of penicillin and other "wonder drugs," and development of a vaccine for polio, researchers in the postwar years began to look for drugs to treat cancer, based on promising wartime discoveries. Initial successes against certain cancers firmly established a third weapon in the anticancer arsenal of surgery and radiation: chemotherapy. While the smoking-cancer link was noted in the 1930s, proving causality was an enormous task, involving epidemiological studies of smokers, nonsmokers and lung cancer victims, as well as experiments on animals. The first study was published in 1950.

Improving Prospects with Earlier Diagnosis

No matter what form cancer takes or the treatment used against it, the earlier it is discovered, the better the patient's prospects for recovery. Early treatment may prevent the cancer from metastasizing, or spreading, from its original site toother parts of the body. Techniques for diagnosing cancer at earlier stages were developed in the years following World War II, and efforts towards public education increased.

AFTER WORLD WAR II, the frontiers of scientific research extended into both outer space and the molecules of living matter. Subatomic particles were identified, and machines were developed to process information at astonishing speeds. The most dramatic advances occurred in molecular biology as the inner workings and makeup of cells were revealed. Cancer research moved into the medical vanguard.

About the Author

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