12 FOREWORD 



thelial, and connective tissues, may be spoken of as a condition 

 of hyperproteomorphism or the cancerous condition. All such 

 conditions are more or less subject to clinical and physiological 

 benefits from the administration of protein antigens the effect 

 being indirect, and conditioned on changes in corpuscular num- 

 bers or enzymic activities. 



(8) Autolyzed cancer cells themselves serve as antigens, stim- 

 ulating the blood-forming mechanism, but ultimately, in unfavor- 

 able cases, leading to the exhaustion and overpowering of this 

 mechanism through over-stimulation and to the excessive destruc- 

 tion of corpuscles. Similar stimulation and possible exhaustion 

 result from the parenteral presence of other foreign proteins, 

 heterologous or autologous. 



(9) Protein antigens as a whole may conveniently be spoken 

 of as Proteantigens. Considering the observed action of these 

 proteins in stimulating the increase of the ranks of large mono- 

 cytes, the word Monocytosins may be used as a synonym for 

 proteantigens. A more general and perhaps more appropriate 

 word would be Cytogens. It is convenient to refer to the non- 

 bacterial vegetable proteins, now for the first time used as thera- 

 peutic proteantigens or cytogens, under the name of Proteals. 

 Animal substances such as white of egg and milk albumen, sim- 

 ilarly used, may be spoken of as Proteils. 



It goes without saying that the essential facts as to the action 

 of the proteantigens are matters of chief importance. Theories 

 are necessarily subordinate, and questions of terminology need 

 give us no concern whatever. The latter are suggested here 

 merely as matters of convenience. 



There is a considerable body of evidence in support of all the 

 observations and all the theories above cited ; but naturally much 

 more evidence for some than others. Beyond saying that the 

 evidence is based on a first-hand study of a large number of 

 cases, and on a fairly extensive series of microscopical observa- 

 tions, together with reports from a large group of associated 

 physicians in various parts of the United States, I shall not 

 attempt to summarize it here. The object of this book is to 

 present the evidence somewhat in detail; yet even here the 

 presentation is explicative rather than argumentative. I have 

 not thought it expedient to cumber the text with long lists of 

 repetitive cases, as I might readily have done. I have not dupli- 

 cated the tabular records of my Monograph of 1916 (of which a 

 new edition will appear presently). I have endeavored, rather, 

 to summarize the salient facts and theories in the most condensed 

 form consistent with clear exposition. 



In view of the importance of the subject, I venture to hope that 

 the candid reader will reserve judgment as to an estimate of 



