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Peyton Rous: A Centennial Tribute to the Founding Father of Cancer Virology

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Cancer Associated Viruses

Part of the book series: Current Cancer Research ((CUCR))

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Abstract

In 1911, the then 32-year-old Peyton Rous established a link between tumors and viruses. Rous, a well-trained experimental pathologist and a meticulous observer, succeeded in discovering the first tumor virus, now known as the Rous sarcoma virus. Some of the best pathologists of the day had considerable impact on his scientific development: William H. Welch at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (before 1905), and particularly Aldred S. Warthin at the University of Michigan (1905–1909), furthermore Georg Schmorl at Dresden Friedrichstadt Municipal Hospital, Germany (1907) and Simon Flexner at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in New York (from 1909 on). This article reports on new studies showing how Warthin and Schmorl strengthened the advancement of Rous by ensuring his sound grounding in pathology. Under the inspiring guidance of Warthin and Schmorl, Rous was able to perfect his methodological skills and to improve his knowledge of infectious diseases. He was, thus, well-prepared to seize the opportunities that were offered to him by Simon Flexner at the Rockefeller Institute. The great achievements of Rous, particularly in the fields of viral oncology and blood preservation, are briefly described in this initial chapter.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Carol Oberschmidt (Berlin) for translation and Professor Manfred F. Rajewsky (Essen) for critical reading of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, 13125, Berlin, Germany

    Volker Wunderlich

  2. Institute of Pathology “Georg Schmorl”, 01067, Dresden, Germany

    Peter Kunze

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  1. Volker Wunderlich
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  2. Peter Kunze
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Correspondence to Volker Wunderlich .

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  1. Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Hamilton Walk 3610, Philadelphia, 19104, Pennsylvania, USA

    Erle S. Robertson

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Wunderlich, V., Kunze, P. (2012). Peyton Rous: A Centennial Tribute to the Founding Father of Cancer Virology. In: Robertson, E. (eds) Cancer Associated Viruses. Current Cancer Research. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0016-5_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0016-5_1

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