The Solution Was Clear

Some scientists' interest in cancer is more than scientific. Quiet, balding Pathologist Albert M. Harris was one of those. Day after day he worked in the laboratory of the Sioux Valley Hospital at Sioux Falls, S.Dak. His father, also a physician, had had cancer. Young Dr. Harris was looking for a quick and sure test for the disease.

The clue, he thought, lay in an enzyme called hyaluronidase, which exists in the testes, eyes, spleen, skin. He believed that it exists in large amounts in most cancers. He devised a urine test: the enzyme is extracted from the urine with ether, then mixed with a solution of fresh umbilical cord and rabbit serum. Two weeks ago, in the first issue of the new South Dakota Journal of Medicine and Pharmacy, he reported his findings: if the solution remains clear, the patient has the enzyme in his body in larger than normal amounts--and may have cancer. If the solution becomes cloudy, the patient is free from cancer. The test's* big advantage, according to Dr. Harris: it can be made in 24 to 48 hours, costs only $5, is 75% to 90% accurate in detecting suspected cancer.

In December, Dr. Harris tried the test on himself; the solution was cloudy. One day last month he became ill, was admitted as a patient to his own hospital. Other doctors tried the test on him again. This time, the solution was clear, but no one told him. Dr. Harris was taken to Bishop Clarkson Memorial Hospital in Omaha, Neb. There one day last week he died-- from cancer of the brain.

*Cancer experts reserved judgment on the test's theory and effectiveness.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.