The Scientific Efforts in the Turkish Oncological History During the First Ten Years of the Turkish Republic

Abstract

A small number of physicians strived to increase scientific knowledge on cancer despite the hardships of the early and difficult years of the Turkish Republic. For instance, Hamdi Suat took his place in the international medical literature with his article that was published in 1927 based on the scientific data he obtained at his pathology laboratory that he established in 1925. Kazım İsmail published his original work called “The Causes and Treatment of Cancer” in 1926. Moreover, Kazım İsmail published a translated book with the title “Diagnosis of Primary Cancer” with Ömer Vasfi in 1928. In addition, Esad Raşit translated and published a book called “The Science of Internal Diseases, Infectious Diseases: Cancer, Care” in the same year. At the Third Turkish National Medical Congress, physicians from different medical specialties dealing with cancer came together and discussed it thematically. Prior to the congress, six articles on cancer, written by German physicians, were published in the special issue of “The Journal of Treatment Notes”. Furthermore, Ali Rıza and Kazım İsmail handed out the first book on cancer written in Turkish with the Latin alphabet, called “Surgically Treated Skin Cancers”, to the physicians participating in the congress for free. Saim Ali Dilemre and Mehmet Lütfi wrote the congress’ report on cancer. Soon after the congress, Selahattin Mehmet Erk’s article “X-Ray Treatment of Cancer”, Remzi Kazancıgil’s article “Curie-therapy of Cancer”, Burhaneddin Toker’s article “The Surgical Treatment of Cancer” and Kemal Atay’s article “The Surgical Treatment of Cancers”, all of which were presented at the congress, were collected into a book.

Keywords

• history of cancer
• History of medicine
• history of Turkish oncology