Hadassah Medical School Scientists Develop New Cancer Diagnostic Tests

Advances in the field of medical science developed by Hadassah scientists and medical personnel were the highlights of a press conference last night held prior to the Hadassah Medical Organization dinner to mark the 10th anniversary of the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center at Ein Karem, Jerusalem. Mrs. Max Schenck, president of the Women’s Zionist Organization, announced that Hadassah was in the process of concluding negotiations that would grant rights to a cancer diagnostic test developed by Dr. Chloc Tal, an immunologist at the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center in Jerusalem to the J.T. Baker Chemical Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Richardson-Merrel, Inc, Dr. Kalman J. Mann, director-general of the Hadassah Medical Organization, revealed that a process developed in the last few months by Dr. David Weiss, head of the Immunological Department of the Medical Center, seems to increase the resistance of the body to cancer. The process, known as MER, when given to animals, has given them increased abilities to throw off cancer transplants, he said. The diagnostic test developed by Dr. Tal, uses a distinct protein, which she called T-globulin, to detect cancer in its early stages. In a “blind test” on 520 patients in various departments of the Hadassah Medical Center, T-globulin was found in the blood of 356 patients. It was subsequently determined that 350 of the 356 patients had cancer, three were suspected but nonverified cancer patients, and three were pregnant.

Dr. Tal believes that cancer causes the formation in the body of a specific organ – a protein not normally found in the body. The antigen, in turn, causes the formation of the antibody T-globulin. David S. Alcorn, executive vice-president of the J.T. Baker Chemical Co., characterized Dr. Tal’s discovery as a livery significant scientific advance.” It was different from all other approaches to the problem, he said, and “will contribute greatly to our understanding of the development of cancer.” Dr. Mann said clinical testing was now under way in Israel, in Washington at the Cancer Institute of the National Health Institute, and at a hospital in Uganda. Mrs. Charlotte Jacobson, chairman of the Hadassah Medical Organization, said Dr. Tal was born and educated in Jerusalem and is a graduate of the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School. “I think that says a great deal about the quality of our teaching and research,” Mrs. Jacobson observed. “It is also an indication of what can be done with modest grants-if the researchers have the proper scientific surroundings.” Mayor Teddy Kollek of Jerusalem outlined the procedures the municipality had taken to prevent another outbreak of cholera. He said the city was building three sewage treatment plants that would be completed in the next four years at a cost of up to $14 million. He said the city’s greatest need was “better medical care for the aged.” Six hundred Hadassah members and guests attended the dinner including UN delegates from nations which had been the beneficiaries of Hadassah medical teams and whose students had studied at the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical School and Center.