Nexus - 1701 - New Times Magazine-pages

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and Much’ held, as did L'Esperance, that it was caused by a peculiar form of tuberculosis, such as fowl! tuberculosis, and debate over the infectious cause of Hodgkin's waxed the hottest of all the cancers. Into this arena L'Esperance stepped in 1931, with few listening. Her article "Studies in Hodgkin's Disease" was published in Annals of Surgery.’ It proved to be the one legacy that no one, not even Ewing (who would soon die from a self-diagnosed cancer), could take away. bacilli. Livingston stored away in her memory that this — and Much’ held, as did L'Esperance, that it was caused by pathologist—Dr Elise L'Esperance—was probably right —_a peculiar form of tuberculosis, such as fowl tuberculosis, but would have a difficult time gaining acceptance for and debate over the infectious cause of Hodgkin's waxed er findings. the hottest of all the cancers. By 1931, L'Esperance was seeing “acid fast" Into this arena L'Esperance stepped in 1931, with few uberculosis-like bacteria riddling her Hodgkin's cancer listening. Her article "Studies in Hodgkin's Disease" was issue samples. That germ, once injected into guinea published in Annals of Surgery. It proved to be the one pigs, caused them to come down with Hodgkin's, too, __ legacy that no one, not even Ewing (who would soon die ulfilling Koch's postulates. She brought her stained from a self-diagnosed cancer), could take away. slides to former teacher and prominent Cornell cancer pathologist Dr James Ewing, "the father of oncology". He Dr Virginia Livingston and cancer's true cause initially confirmed that her tissue slides indeed showed Our {cancer| cultures were scrutinized over and over again. Hodgkin's. But when he found out that her samples Strains were sent to many laboratories for identification. None came through guinea pig inoculation with fowl could really classify them. They were something unknown. uberculosis which she had found in humans with They had many forms but they always grew up again to be the Hodgkin's, Ewing, visibly upset, said that the slide same thing no matter how they were cultured. They resembled samples then could not be cancer. the mycobacteria more than anything else. The tubercle bacillus This reaction betrayed his chequered history as a high- is a mycobacterium or fungoid bacillus. placed medical politician. In — Virginia Livingston, 1972" 907, you could ave approached Dr James Ewing Virginia Wuerthele-Caspe about a cancer germ and he ' Livingston was born in 1906 in would have embraced you over By 1931, L Esperance was Meadville, Pennsylvania, and it. Was it not Ewing who at one seeing "acid fast" went on to obtain impeccable time had proclaimed that Pan . credentials. Graduating from tuberculosis followed Hodgkin's tuber culosis-like bacteria Vassar College, she received her cancer "like a shadow"? riddling her Hodgkin's MD degree from New York But a few years later, Ewing . University. The first female sent a sword through the heart cancer tissue samples. medical resident ever in New York City, in time Livingston with Neoplastic Diseases,’ becoming became a school physician in an ambitious zealot for radiation Newark, New Jersey, where one herapy with the directorship of what would one day day a staff nurse asked for medical assistance. become the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center The nurse had already been diagnosed with Raynaud's squarely on his mind. His entry lay in the hands of syndrome: the tips of her fingers were ulcerated and bled prominent philanthropist James Douglas. A vote for intermittently. Livingston diagnosed scleroderma, but Ewing, Douglas knew, was a vote for continued radiation —_ upon further examination she noticed a hole in the nasal and so Douglas began sizeable uranium extraction septum, something she had seen previously in the operations from Colorado mines through his company, — mycobacterial diseases TB and leprosy. Phelps Dodge, Inc.’ So Livingston approached dermatologist Dr Eva Soon, Sloan's predecessor became known as a radium _—_ Brodkin and New Jersey pathologist Dr Roy Allen for ospital and went from an institution with a census of confirmation, all the while convinced that mycobacteria ess than 15 per cent of cancer patients—separated by infection was causing the scleroderma. She then partition, lest their disease spread to others—to a__ performed cultures from a sterile nasal swab, and veritable cancer centre. But the very history of radiation | mycobacteria appeared everywhere. When she injected revealed its flaws: by the early 1900s, nearly 100 cases of | the mycobacteria into experimental chicks and guinea eukaemia had been documented in radium recipients, pigs, all but a couple died. During the autopsies, and not long thereafter it was determined that Livingston observed that the guinea pigs had indeed approximately 100 radiologists had contracted that developed the hardened skin patches of scleroderma... cancer due to radium exposure.‘ Still, Ewing, by now an some of which were cancerous.* onorary member of the American Radium Society, Livingston, now possessed, solicited fresh sterile persisted. specimens of cancer from any operating room that would Elise L'Esperance was anything but alone in linking give them to her. All cancer tissues yielded the same Hodgkin's to a germ called fowl tuberculosis. acid-fast mycobacteria. Allen confirmed her findings. Historically, Dr Carl Sternberg himself, co-discoverer of | Livingston then found that she could actually Hodgkin's trademark Reed-Sternberg cell, believed that differentiate malignant from benign tissues by their Hodgkin's was caused by tuberculosis. Both Fraenkel — tuberculous mycobacterial content.’ of an infectious cause of cancer Dr Virginia Livingston and cancer's true cause Our [cancer] cultures were scrutinized over and over again. Strains were sent to many laboratories for identification. None could really classify them. They were something unknown. They had many forms but they always grew up again to be the same thing no matter how they were cultured. They resembled the mycobacteria more than anything else. The tubercle bacillus is a mycobacterium or fungoid bacillus. vn wate 1ATN7 By 1931, L'Esperance was seeing "acid fast" tuberculosis-like bacteria riddling her Hodgkin's cancer tissue samples. 36 * NEXUS — Virginia Livingston, 1972’ DECEMBER 2009 - JANUARY 2010 www.nexusmagazine.com