On the Nature 

 of Caneer 



SAMUEL GRAFF 



Cancer is a familiar clinical problem, but its definitive inherent 

 characteristics are still obscure. Many experiments have attested to 

 the similarities between cancerous and normal tissues, but few have 

 revealed unique disparities on which therapy could be based. Under 

 such circumstances imaginative speculation within the framework of 

 evidence is a necessity unless we are to resign ourselves to blind 

 empiricism in the search for the cure for cancer. The biochemist in 

 cancer research soon finds himself in an ever-widening circle of excur- 

 sions into tangential disciplines in his search for a clue to the intrinsic 

 nature of cancer, for it is only with the aid of observations apparently 

 far removed from formal biochemistry that an hypothesis leading 

 to therapy can be derived. 



Cancer is a cellular aberration distinguished by autonomy and ana- 

 plasia, that is, by disregard for normal limitations of growth and by 

 loss of normal organization and function. In this essay we w T ill try to 

 clothe these dry definitive bones with experimental conclusions and 

 with plausible speculations, parading our conceptions of the origin of 

 cancer and of possible chemotherapy whenever they contribute to this 

 end. In effect, we set forth a comprehensive hypothesis on the nature, 

 the cause, and the cure for cancer. 



The wide prevalence of cancer among animals permits of controlled 

 experimentation to a degree which is unusual among other degener- 

 ative diseases. Carcinomas, sarcomas, lymphomas, leukemias, as solid 

 tumors or as ascitic suspensions, are readily available in variety as 

 regards both host and growth characteristics. Many of these tumors 

 occur spontaneously, and practically all of them can be maintained 

 by serial passage in appropriate hosts. Some workers have the view 

 that it is immaterial which tumor is selected for research, that they 



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