GLOVER’S CANCER SERUM
Scores of letters have reached—and are reaching—The Journal office similar in effect to the following:
“I am enclosing ‘literature’ received from the ‘T. J. Glover Research Laboratory.’ Though purporting to come from Toronto, where the $25.00 are to be sent, if you please, the envelope bears the New York postmark.”
The above is from New Jersey while the two following are from Michigan and Illinois, respectively:
“Have you any information in regard to this party and his treatment for cancer? This is the first I have heard of any such work having been done. One wonders if it is presented in good faith or if the money god has overcome the gentleman’s scientific spirit.”
“Is this just one more of them? Why a roan horse? Some people might want serum from a nice bay or calico cow pony.”
The literature referred to comes in an envelop bearing the name of “T. J. Glover, Research Laboratory, Toronto, Canada,” but mailed, apparently, from New York City. The enclosures are a single sheet circular signed Thomas Joseph Glover and entitled “Etiology of Cancer,” a “Directions” slip and a card quoting prices. In the circular Dr. Glover states that he has prepared a serum from immunized horses, “between ages of seven and nine years, of the roan type,” and has injected this intramuscularly “into patients in the advanced stages of cancer and noticed that it has a specific action on every known type of cancer.” Further:
“Up to the present time I have apparently cured cancer of the face, eye, nose, lip, mouth, tongue, stomach, bowel, bladder, breast and uterus.”
In addition to the circular, was a small leaflet giving directions for the injection of the serum and also a card bearing Dr. Glover’s name and Toronto address and reading:
This is to advise you that Dr. T. J. Glover’s Serum for the treatment of cancer can now be had by application to office at above address.
PRICE FIVE DOLLARS PER TREATMENT. FIVE TREAT-
MENTS MINIMUM NUMBER SENT AT ONE TIME.
Send money by Post-Office Money Order or Certified Cheque.
DIRECTIONS FOR TREATMENT WITH EACH ORDER.
This advertising material, which is evidently being widely circulated in the United States, would indicate that the Glover Research Laboratory had received a permit from the United States Public Health Service licensing the interstate sale of this serum in the United States. No such license has been issued.
The Journal briefly reported in the department of Medical News, Oct. 30, 1920, that the Academy of Medicine of Toronto had appointed a committee to investigate the claims made for the Glover “cancer serum.” In the meantime, the most charitable thing that can be said is that the “treatment” is in the experimental stage and the reported results have not been corroborated by independent investigators.—(From The Journal A.M.A., Jan. 1, 1921.)
The Toronto Academy of Medicine Reports Unfavorably on Glover’s Cancer Serum
The method of exploitation of the alleged cancer serum being put out by Dr. T. J. Glover of Toronto, Canada, was briefly discussed in this department of The Journal for January 1. At that time it was pointed out that the medical profession of the United States was being widely circularized by Dr. Glover and that, while the letters purported to come from Toronto, they were, in fact, mailed from New York City. Since this article appeared the circularization seems to have continued undiminished and physicians in various parts of the United States have sent in the Glover advertising material. Oddly enough, the matter now sent out, while identical in every respect with that dealt with in the previous article, bears a different return address on the back of the envelop. The envelops are the same; but the legend “T. J. Glover Research Laboratory, 538 Jarvis St., Toronto, Canada,” has been crudely crossed out and there has been substituted by means of a rubber stamp the legend “MRS. STEWART, 309 W. 54th St., New York.” Still later letters have been modified to the extent that the letters “RS” of “MRS.” have been cut out of the stamp and it now reads “M . STEWART.”
There has now come to hand a report just published by a special committee appointed by the council of the Academy of Medicine, Toronto, to investigate the Glover Serum. The report of this committee may be summed up by one of its closing paragraphs, which reads:
“The data which your committee has been able to obtain have not convinced it that the results of treatment obtained by the use of Dr. Glover’s serum are better than those obtained by similar methods introduced by others, and which have ultimately disappointed the hopes entertained of them.”
The committee’s report deals with the claims that Dr. Glover has made for his serum, both experimental and clinical. It seems that Dr. Glover has claimed that, experimentally, he had (1) cultured cancer cells and from these cells had isolated and cultured an organism which he declared was confined to, and present in, every type of cancer; (2) produced cancer in a number of animals by inoculation with these cells and organisms; (3) obtained a serum—from a horse that had been injected with cultures of these cells and organisms—which, when injected into experimental animals rendered them immune to inoculation, and (4) produced improvement or cure in cases of human cancer by the injection of his serum. The committee reported that it was unable to obtain any evidence to substantiate Dr. Glover’s claims on the experimental aspect of the question as Dr. Glover had refused to permit representatives of the committee to visit his laboratory; had refused the request of the committee to be allowed to examine his cultures and experimental material; had not acceded to the request of the committee that he demonstrate his ability to culture cancer cells and organisms and to produce cancer by inoculation or to immunize animals against it.
The committee attempted also to collect information which would enable it to pass on the clinical claims made by Dr. Glover, first, as to whether he has succeeded in producing cures, either regularly or occasionally, in cases definitely established as cancer and, second, to enable the committee to decide whether his serum in cases definitely established as cancer produces improvement beyond that which occasionally occurs spontaneously or under palliative measures. On both of these points, the committee reported that it found no evidence to warrant the hope that a specific cure for cancer has been discovered by Dr. Glover or that the serum had produced a cure in any case definitely established as cancer.
It should be understood, that the committee’s investigations and findings were completed before the present advertising campaign of the Glover serum was initiated.—(From The Journal A.M.A, Feb. 5, 1921.)