104 i:\/.yMiJs 



Tumors. — l^i-obably because of tlie jiTeat amount of necrosis that 

 is constantly <i-oin^- on in all nialiji-nant jiTowths, with subsequent di- 

 gestion of the dead cells, autolytic products are present in them in 

 very considerable amounts. This was first demonstrated by Petry,-'" 

 who found that carcinomata of the breast contained much of their 

 nitrogen in c()m])ounds not coagulated by heat, while in the normal 

 eland practically all is coagulable. Tie also demonstrated an autolytic 

 property in tumor tissue, showing that tumor cells do not ditt'er in this 

 respect from normal cells. l-Jeebe -" found i)i'()(lucts of autolysis con- 

 stantly present in several tumors; namely, a carcinoma of the broad 

 ligament, a hypernephroma, an angiosarcoma, and a round-cell sar- 

 coma. 



Neuberg -' found that while, according to other observers, most 

 enzymes, as well as bacteria, are very susceptible to the action of 

 radium rays, the autolytic enzymes of cancer cells are an exception, 

 for cancer tissue exposed to radium undergoes autolysis much faster 

 than cancer tissue not exposed to radium ; .^-rays are less active in 

 this respect. He attributes the effects of radium on cancer to its 

 deleterious effects on the oxidizing and other enzymes of the cells, 

 destroying their activities, which results in destruction of the cells 

 by the autolytic enzymes.-- A cancer of the stomach was found to 

 contain autolytic enzymes capable of digesting lung tissue (pepsin 

 was excluded) and autolyzed cancers yielded much pentose. Blu- 

 menthal and Wolf -" believe that tumor tissues have particularly active 

 autolytic enzymes, since liver tissue added to tumor tissue underwent 

 autolysis much more rapidly than normal ; but tumors do not cause 

 digestion of serum plates unless many leucocytes are present (IMiiller 

 and Kolaczek).^^ Cancer extracts digest peptids in ways different 

 from normal tissues, which seems to indicate some fundamental ab- 

 normality in their metabolism (Abderhalden,-" Neuberg''-). The al- 

 most constant presence in gastric juice of patients with carcinoma 

 of the stomach, of ereptases hydrolyzing proteoses and peptids, is 

 generally attril)ut('d to the disintegration of the cancer with libera- 



2o Zeit. f. plivsiol. Choni., 1899 (27), 398; Hofmoister's Beitr., 1!)()2 (2). 04. 



2<i Amer. Joiir. Pliysiol., 1904 (11), 139. 



27 Zeit. f. Krc'l)sforscl)uii<j:, 1904 (2), 171; P.orlin. klin. Woch., 1904 (41), 

 1081: ibid., 1905 (42), 118; Arb. Path. Inst. Berlin. 190(1. p. o93. 



-•« Wohlfrcnnitli, Borl. klin. Woeh., 1904 (41). 704, found that autolysis in 

 tuberculous luiifr tissue was three or four times more rapid wlieu exposed to 

 radium rays, lleile (Arch. klin. Cliir., lOOo (77). 107 I looks ujioii the favorable 

 etlects of a'-rays as partly jiroduced by their liberation of autolytic eii/ymes 

 from the loucocvtcs. 



23 Med. Klini'k., 1905 (1), No. 7. 



■•'•MiilJer and Kolaczek, :Miincli. nied. Wodi.. 1907 ( .")4 ) . 3.")4 : lless and Saxl. 

 Wien. klin. Woch., l!l(ts (21), 1183; l\c]>ino\v. Zeit. f. K rebsforscli.. I'.Ki'.i (7i. 



r)i7. 



31 Zeit. plixsiol. CIm'iii., 1910 ((>(i), 277. 

 s2Bio< licin'. /cii., 1 1) 1(1 (2(i), 344. 



