ANIMAL EXPERIMENTATION AND PROTEAL THERAPY 287 



Cramer as to the "energetic phagocytosis which accompanies spon- 

 taneous absorption of transplanted tumors, and which occurs in 

 absorption after exposure to radium," and the observation of two 

 of the same workers that cancer cells presenting complete degen- 

 eration "are rapidly taken up by phagocytes in the days imme- 

 diately succeeding transplantation." 



All in all, it would appear that there is abundant warrant for 

 the assumption that the leucocytes have an important share in the 

 attempt of the organism to combat the invasion of cancer cells. 

 Probably the evidence justifies the belief that they have the im- 

 portant share, though the co-operation of the red corpuscles is 

 so essential (according to the present thesis) that these agents 

 can scarcely be said to be subordinate. 



If this conclusion is justified, it would seem to follow as a mat- 

 ter of course that a medicinal agent to combat cancer should be 

 sought along the lines of a stimulus to the blood-forming organs. 

 It does not appear, however, that any one definitely formulated 

 such an idea until an agent clinically observed to benefit the cancer 

 subject was found to have acted through stimulation of the blood 

 count in particular increasing the numbers of red corpuscles and 

 large mononuclears. 



TYPES OF LEUCOCYTES 



It will have been observed that throughout the foregoing dis- 

 cussion we have been concerned with concrete and tangible facts. 

 Let us supplement these facts by recalling the series of tables in 

 which it was demonstrated that the administration of vegetable 

 proteins brings about, in the average cancer case, a conspicuous 

 and progressive increase of the large mononuclear leucocytes, 

 which were seen to advance from the normal maximum of four 

 or five per cent, of the leucocyte count to 15 per cent., 18 per cent., 

 19 per cent., and 25 per cent., on the average, in successive groups 

 of cases ; reaching a much higher figure in individual cases. 



With these series of facts for background, it will not be with- 

 out interest to make inquiry as to the manner of action through 

 which the increased armies of large monocytes exercise their an- 

 tagonistic influence against cancer cells, and thus benefit the 

 patient. 



At the outset I would suggest the advisability of not drawing 

 too sharp a line of distinction between the two types of mononu- 

 clear leucocytes, namely, the small lymphocytes and large mono- 

 cytes. It must be recalled that there are still differences of opin- 

 ion as to the origin of the large monocytes, some physiologists 

 contending that they are merely overgrown lymphocytes. A more 

 popular view, probably, is that they are of bone-marrow origin, 



