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Nikolai Nikolaevich Petrov

Founder of Russian scientific oncology (on the 140th anniversary of his birth)

Nikolai Nikolajewitch Petrow

Begründer der russischen Onkologie (anlässlich seines 140. Geburtstags)

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Summary

Nikolai Nikolaevich Petrov was a Russian surgeon, the founder of Russian oncology and the author of many important scientific publications. N. N. Petrov enriched the medical science with a number of valuable experimental studies, which significantly advanced the knowledge of the etiology and pathogenesis of malignant tumors. He discovered the carcinogenic effects of sunlight and the influence of photometrically established doses of ultraviolet (UV) rays on the occurrence of malignancies. He organized a laboratory of experimental cancer in Sukhumi, where one of the most important experiments on the production of malignant tumors in monkeys was carried out. He was one of the founders of the Institute of Oncology in St. Petersburg. He was an active participant in international congresses on surgery and oncology. Under his direction combined surgical and radiation treatment of malignant tumors, electrosurgery for cancer operations and treatment of wounds after removal of tumors were introduced into broad medical practice. Moreover, he was very much involved in ethical problems in surgery.

Zusammenfassung

Nikolai Nikolajewitch Petrow war ein russischer Chirurg, Begründer der russischen Onkologie und Autor einer Vielzahl von bedeutenden wissenschaftlichen Veröffentlichungen. N. N. Petrow bereicherte die medizinischen Wissenschaften mit einer Reihe wertvoller experimenteller Studien, die das Wissen über die Ätiologie und Pathogenese maligner Tumoren beträchtlich voranbrachten. Er entdeckte die karzinogenen Wirkungen von Sonnenlicht und den Einfluss photometrisch bestimmter Dosen ultravioletter Strahlung auf das Vorkommen maligner Erkrankungen. In Sochumi baute er ein Labor für experimentelle Krebsforschung auf, wo eines der wichtigsten Experimente zur Induktion maligner Tumoren bei Affen durchgeführt wurde. N. N. Petrow war Mitgründer des Instituts für Onkologie in Sankt Petersburg. Er nahm aktiv an internationalen Kongressen für Chirurgie und Onkologie teil. Unter seiner Leitung fanden die kombinierte chirurgisch-strahlentherapeutische Behandlung maligner Neoplasien, elektrochirurgische Tumoroperationen und die Behandlung von Wunden nach Tumorresektion erstmals breite medizinische Anwendung. Darüber hinaus beschäftigte sich N. N. Petrow intensiv mit ethischen Fragestellungen in der Chirurgie.

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Acknowledgements

This article would not have been possible without the kind support and help of Mr. Gavin Wilson and Mrs. Margarita Wilson. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to them.

Conflict of interest

M. Betekhtin and D. Gudanovich declare that they have no competing interests.

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Correspondence to Mikhail Betekhtin MD, PhD.

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Betekhtin, M., Gudanovich, D. Nikolai Nikolaevich Petrov. Wien Med Wochenschr 166, 462–465 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10354-016-0457-y

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