Further Study of Blastomogenic Substances in the Human Body*

In January, 1937, Schabad (II) showed that benzol extracts of the liver of a patient who had died of cancer were carcinogenic when injected into mice. Malignant and benign tumors were produced at the site of injection or in a remote location. In 1938, Neufach and Schabad (9, lO) proved that a benzol extract of the bile of patients who had died of cancer likewise possessed a blastomogenic effect. Recently, in 1939 and 194o, Kleinenberg, Neufach, and Schabad (4, 5, 6) summarized the results of a large number of experiments aimed at studying the effect of extracts obtained from organs of patients who had died of cancer and from persons who had died of other diseases. The results showed that extracts of organs from patients dying of cancer produced a greater number of tumors than extracts of organs of persons dying of other causes. The presence of blastomogenic substances in the organs of patients who had died of malignant tumors was established by this work and the assumption was made that these substances found in the human body were of endogenic origin. These results were confirmed in 194o by des Ligneris (i), Hieger (2), Menke (7), Steiner (18), and Tanaka, whose report is included in a paper by Kinosita (3). Additional detailed accounts of methods of extraction and results of tests for carcinogenicity of the extracts have been published by Neufach (8, 9), and by Schabad (11-16).