Occupational and Environmental Cancers of the Urinary System

Abstract

The author of this monograph was the first investigator to prove, in 1937, that bladder cancer could occur in dogs, from exposure to a derivative of the chemical dye industry—beta naphthylamine. He has devoted many years of work collecting data on environmental cancer. The present book reflects his extensive knowledge of this problem. There are 11 chapters, which range from a detailed analysis of cancers of the urinary system caused by aromatic amines (β naphthylamine, benzidine, and xenylamine are proved carcinogens) to sections dealing with suspicious agents such as the endogenous metabolites of tryptophan. These last may have a connection with urinary-tract cancers in cigarette smokers and persons infected with the parasite,<i>Schistosoma haematobium</i>. The author further implicates a wide spectrum of agents which are used in foodstuffs and which ultimately derive from coal tar substances. There is an informative discussion of ionizing radiation and its relation to cancer.