The cancer problem : a statistical study / by C.E. Green.

  • Green, C. E. (Charles Edward), 1866-1920
Date:
1912
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The cancer problem : a statistical study / by C.E. Green. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    a sharp issue on the present theories of cancer origin : the Cell Theory, and the Parasitic. The question at issue between these is whether cancer arises through a modification of the forma- tive process, or is the result of stimulation hy micro-organisms. In other words, is it of intrinsic or extrinsic origin ? Now, if cancer be due to modifications of the formative cell processes, why should these modifications occur more frequently in some trades than in others ? To say that sweeps or furriers start life as a class with their cells particularly prone to these modifications is obviously absurd. These statistics prove that it must be some element in the environment of the sufferer which brings on the disease, and if we admit this, we must admit an extrinsic origin. If this be so, how does it set up this strange condition of perpetual cell-growth which, pathologi- cally, is a thing per se, and so far unaccountable? The extrinsic cause must be either mechanical, chemical, parasitic, or a subtle combination of the three. Mechanical irritation is a commonly accepted factor in the etiology, hut it is not a satisfactory one. It may have, like trauma generally, a predis-