James Carroll: a biography.

James Carroll was born in England in 1854; at the age of 15, he emigrated to Canada where he worked at various odd jobs. At age 20, he crossed the border and volunteered for the US Army, in which he remained for the rest of his life. Appointed as Hospital Steward, he became interested in medicine. He was permitted to take basic courses at St Paul University and later at Bellevue Hospital in New York. He received his MD degree in 1891 from the University of Maryland while still a sergeant. He then took the course in bacteriology offered by Welch at Hopkins. At an 1893 international exposition in Chicago, Carroll was put in charge of the Army's exhibit on bacteriology. He was then called to become Assistant Professor of Microscopy at the new Army Medical School; his senior there was Walter Reed. Both men were offered professorships in pathology and bacteriology at George Washington University, and in 1900, both were appointed to the US Board sent to Havana. After several weeks, the Board determined that the alleged agent causing yellow fever was Bacillus cholerae suis (Sanarelli). Visiting British researchers informed the Board of their favorable view of Carlos Finlay's theory that the disease was transmitted by the mosquito. The Board then visited Finlay, who gave them eggs of the particular species of mosquito that he had discovered to be the culprit. Board members Lazear and Carroll submitted themselves to the bite of an infected mosquito; both developed severe fever and Lazear died. The Board then carried out a well-planned experiment which proved that Finlay had been right for 20 years. Further experiments by Carroll showed that the agent could pass through a Berkefeld filter and was not bacterial.

[Results of twenty year follow-up of patients with inoperable prostate cancer (stage C) treated by radiotherapy. Report of a national multicenter study]. / Résultats du suivi à 20 ans de patients porteurs de cancer prostatique non curables chirurgicalement (stade C) traités par radiothérapie. Rapport d'une étude nationale multicentrique.

This is a report on a National Cooperative study of Radiotherapy for inoperable patients with cancer of the prostate: 372 patients with adenocarcinoma of the prostate, stage C, received radiotherapy from 1967 to 1973, according to a very strict protocol. With minor variations, all patients received the same total dose: 7000 cGy in 47 days or 7500 cGy in 54 days. Mild episodes of hematuria and rectal bleeding were observed in a number of patients: urethral and rectal strictures also resulted in a few cases, but were no life-threatening complications. A total of 177 patients (47%) died from prostatic cancer, mostly bony metastases that may have been present when the patients were first seen; death from prostatic cancer decreased as the years went by. Only 4 patients (1%) were lost to follow-up, only one before ten years, and none had evidence of cancer when last seen. However, 167 (44%) of the 372 patients lived for various periods of times and died without ostensible evidence of prostatic cancer. In addition 24 were still living after 20 years. Thus, more than half of these elderly inoperable patients treated by radiotherapy lived to die of something else.

Twenty years follow-up of patients with inoperable cancer of the prostate (stage C) treated by radiotherapy: report of a national cooperative study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the longevity and curability of patients with inoperable, Stage C, carcinomas of the prostate by means of external pelvic irradiation. METHODS AND MATERIALS: 372 patients, averaging 61 years of age, with histologically proven adenocarcinoma of the prostate, Stage C, received radiotherapy as part of a National Research Study, from 1967 to 1973. Treatments were administered in accordance with a strict protocol. Portals of entry were optional but it was required that the total dose received at the center of the prostate should be no less than 7000 cGy in no less than 47 days or 7500 cGy in 54 days. RESULTS: 245 of the 372 patients survived 5 years without evidence of recurrence of metastases; 142 were living after 10 years, 64 after 15 years, and 24 after 20 years. A total of 167 patients (44%) survived for years and died from intercurrent diseases without evidence of prostatic cancer. A total of 177 patients (47%) died of prostatic cancer in decreasing proportions in the years after treatment. Mild episodes of hematuria and of rectal bleeding were recorded in a number of patients; urethral and rectal strictured occurred following cystitis and proctitis but no life-threatening complications occurred. CONCLUSIONS: Adequately fractionated external pelvic irradiation can eradicate inoperable intrapelvic prostatic cancer. A simple statement of survival would disregard the fact that these elderly patients may be cured of cancer and yet may die of intercurrent diseases proper of their age. Also, it may be expected that a number of patients with Stage C may have unsuspected subclinical bone metastases when first seen and that death from metastases is not necessarily a reflection on the effectiveness of the regional treatment.

Radiation oncology: postgraduate medical education in the United States, 1988.

The fourteenth survey of postgraduate medical education in radiation oncology in the United States was conducted in the first three months of 1988. It revealed stability in the number of approved programs, positions offered, and physicians in training compared with 1986. The proportion of trainees who were U.S. citizens by birth rose to an all-time high of 88%, and the proportion of foreign medical graduates decreased to 9%. The proportion of women in residency has remained unchanged (24%) over the past 6 years. At present, approximately 150 physicians complete residency and enter practice each year, one-third of whom commence in an academic setting. A high proportion of recent graduates of approved programs successfully completes the examinations and becomes certified by the American Board of Radiology.