Kenneth W. Smith to C. M. McGaw on Dr. Lanza's Lung Cancer Study Contract (1950)

A one-page confidential memo of August 31, 1950, from Dr. Kenneth W. Smith of Canadian Johns-Manville to C. M. McGaw, headed "Pulmonary Malignancy," enclosing a letter and contract from Dr. A. J. Lanza. Lanza had agreed with Smith and Dr. Paul Cartier that the lung cancer program should have two parts: an epidemiological or statistical study, and animal experiments by inhalation and by implantation or injection. Smith thought the statistical study could be done by a Canadian authority, "more acceptable to various groups in this Province," that the best inhalation results would come from the Saranac Laboratory, and that he would "prefer to make no decision until the Saranac proposal is received."

What it shows

Smith's last paragraph reads: "The contract appears to leave little choice to the Donor if the results of the study are unfavorable to Company interests and are submitted for publication. However, I fail to see how they can find anything more unfavorable than that which already has been published by Merewether and Hueper." The company's medical director was weighing, before the study began, how much say the sponsor would have over publishing unfavorable results. Saranac's proposal, three weeks later, gave the sponsor review and approval of any manuscript (the Saranac proposal).

In Johns-Manville's chronology

Johns-Manville's own chronology of what the company knew describes this document as follows:

Lanza (N.Y.U. Institute of Industrial Medicine) proposes epidemiological study of J-M Canada plantworkers to assess asbestos-cancer link. In a memorandum dated 8/31/50, K.W. Smith noted that the contract would give J-M little control over publication. Saranac (Vorwald) and IHF (Braun and Truan) also made proposals for funding by QAMA.

Related documents

• Leroy Gardner to J. P. Woodard on Asbestos and Lung Cancer (1946)
• Kenneth W. Smith to K. V. Lindell Urging a Study of Asbestos and Lung Cancer (1950)
• Paul Cartier to Ivan Sabourin on a Study of Cancer in the Asbestos Industry (1950)
• Arthur J. Vorwald to Kenneth W. Smith on Reviewing Asbestos X-Rays for Lung Cancer (1949)
• Dr. Kenneth W. Smith, Industrial Hygiene Survey of 708 Canadian Johns-Manville Mill Workers (1949)