Leroy Gardner to Ludvig Hektoen of the National Cancer Institute on Cancer in Asbestos-Dusted Mice (1943)

A three-page letter of March 15, 1943, from Dr. Leroy Gardner, director of the Saranac Laboratory, to Dr. Ludvig Hektoen, chairman of the Committee on Cancer Research of the National Cancer Institute. Gardner wrote that he "was startled to discover" that 11 white mice that had inhaled asbestos dust for 15 to 24 months showed "an excessive incidence (81.8%) of pulmonary cancer," far more than mice exposed to quartz dusts. Calling it an "accidental discovery," he proposed to repeat the experiment under properly controlled conditions and applied for a grant of $5,000 for the first year.

What it shows

Gardner explained that his asbestosis study had been paid for over seven years by "the Asbestos Association," a group of manufacturers that "has already invested $30,000," and that he could not ask them for more. He noted that the literature held "some 10 reports of pulmonary cancer in cases of human asbestosis" and that English observers held that asbestos had "a specific carcinogenic action on the lungs," a question "of considerable importance in industrial medicine because of the associated compensation aspects." Three weeks earlier he had told the sponsors, through Vandiver Brown, that the cancer question "now seems more significant" (his letter of February 24, 1943). The request that followed can be traced through the Council's reply to its decision in January 1944.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

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

Dr. Gardner letter to Hektoen (NCI), 3/15/43. Dr. Gardner reports on the startling discovery of mice showing excessive incidence of cancer after inhaling asbestos dust. He classifies asbestos-cancer finding as accidental. Dr. Gardner wants to repeat experiment under properly controlled conditions. Seeks grant from Hektoen of $3,000 to cover costs.

Editor's note: J-M's description says Gardner asked for a grant of $3,000. Both the typed letter and Gardner's handwritten draft ask for $5,000 to cover the first year.

Related documents

• Ludvig Hektoen and R. R. Spencer to Leroy Gardner on Applying for a Cancer Research Grant (1943)
• Saranac Laboratory Application to the National Cancer Institute for a Grant on Asbestosis and Lung Cancer (1943)