Effects of Neoarsphenamine on Spontaneous Breast Tumors of Mice

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The frequency of syphilis in association with cancer is of great significance in the diagnosis, therapy, and prognosis of the malignant growth. While the diagnostic aspect of this problem can usually be dealt with satisfactorily and reliably by the use of the proper serological and histological examinations, the therapeutic and prognostic aspects of this disease combination, and their interrelations, are less clearly understood. Among the various therapeutic agents used against syphilis, arsenicals play an important role. This fact is significant because arsenic compounds have been used extensively heretofore against malignant tumors, locally as caustics and internally as specifics. Their therapeutic use in these conditions has, however, fallen into disrepute in recent times, as experiments have shown that arsenicals may act under certain conditions as growth stimulants, or even as etiological factors in the development of malignant neoplasms. Bayet and Slosse (1) have gone so far as to maintain that all cancers are due to the effect of arsenic. This is obviously incorrect, but the development of multiple cutaneous cancers on the basis of an arsenic dermatosis, due to the prolonged ingestion of arsenic-containing drugs or food substances, is undeniable. Furthermore, Leitch and Kennaway (2) succeeded in producing cutaneous cancer in mice painted with 0.12 per cent arsenic solution three times weekly over an extended period. Askanazy (3) reported the development of benign and malignant tumors in animals which had been intraperitoneally injected with embryo pulp mixed with arsenic solution. Rocunans (4), after injection of arsenious acid into tumor animals, observed an increase in the number of mitoses, an effect which he, however, did not attribute to the direct arsenic action, but which he believed to be due to the alkalosis produced.