Inorganic and Nutritional Aspects of Cancer

For many decades, cancer research concentrated heavily on "or­ ganic" aspects of the disease and ignored the role of trace elements and minerals in carcinogenesis and tumor growth. However, in recent years, spectacular progress has been made in "inorganic" cancer research: numerous inorganic substances were shown to possess car­ cinogenic properties. Quite unexpectedly, certain coordination compounds of platinum were found to have powerful antineoplastic properties, and a number of essential trace elements were demon­ strated to have profound effects on the genesis and growth of spontaneous, induced, or transplanted tumors. It therefore appeared desirable to call upon leading authorities in the field of inorganic cancer research to present their views in a conference dedicated specifically to their discipline. But since trace elements are nor­ mal constituents of foods, it seemed advantageous to include nutri­ tional aspects into the program. The fact that diet and nutrition influence tumor growth and development has been known or suspected for a long time. However, too little research has been done in this important field, resulting in a serious retardation of knowledge. Hence, this opportunity to cover nutritional aspects of cancer was taken, even though it was clear from the beginning that this broad field could not really be treated in the available time. It was necessary, for example, to exclude entirely the vast area of nutri­ tion as an adjuvant in cancer therapy, and even then, further limi­ tation of the scope of topics to be covered had to be made.