280 CHEMOTHERAPY 



of local or even regional treatment. Considering the meager blood 

 supply of epithelial tumors more especially the idea naturally 

 suggested itself to combine the selenium or tellurium with some 

 substance endowed with great powers of diffusion, and to utilize 

 this as a carrier of the cell-destroying metal. As eosin possesses 

 such properties this was selected and a number of eosin-selenium 

 compounds tested out in this direction. While the results obtained 

 were not uniform, a definite cure was nevertheless achieved in several 

 animals, and with the demonstration of this fact the cancer prob- 

 lem seems to have been solved in principle, and it has been proved 

 that not only a growing tumor can be caused to retrogress entirely 

 in consequence of the introduction into the body of a definite chemical 

 compound by the intravenous route, but also that this is possible 

 without causing undue harm to the body at large. 



Of the modus operandi of the selenium we are as yet in ignorance. 

 / Neuberg and Caspari have expressed the opinion that the injection of 

 certain compounds of the heavy metals, notably when administered 

 in colloidal form, favors the self-digestion (autolysis) of the tumor 

 ^\ cell, and they succeeded in demonstrating that there are actually 

 / / substances which possess a selective affinity for cancer cells, and that 

 | in cancer mice it is possible to bring about the dissolution of the tumor 

 with such "tumor affinic" substances. They tested out a large num- 

 ber of the heavy metals and could verify Wassermann's observation 

 that selenium also possesses such properties. They found, however, 

 that copper and tin are even more active in this respect. These 

 experiments have given rise to most active work along these lines, 

 and sufficient evidence has already accumulated to warrant the hope 

 that ere long a method may be devised which may be applicable in 

 the human being also. Some work in this direction is indeed already 

 in progress, but it would be premature to draw any inferences from 

 the little that has as yet been done. 



In conclusion we would yet briefly refer to the work of R. Werner 

 and his collaborators. Starting from a certain parallelism which 

 exists between the effect of radium and x-ray applications and the 

 action of certain cholin salts upon the leukocytes and the reproductive 

 glands, and the fact, moreover, that there is some evidence to show 

 that the lecithin of the cells is decomposed by the x-ray and radium 

 emanations, with the liberation of cholin, these investigators ex- 

 pressed the opinion that the beneficial effects of radium and x-ray 



