Innovative Physician, Known as the Father of Immunotherapy.
William Bradley Coley was a surgeon practicing in New York City in the late 1800s. Unsatisfied with surgical solutions to cancer, especially after he was unable to save a patient named Bessie Dashiell, he sought other solutions.
In 1891, inspired by a case he'd read about, Coley decided to try something new. He used streptococcal bacteria to purposely infect a New York City man named Zola, who had many advanced tumors including one in his throat that prevented him from eating. The treatment worked and was one of the first examples of immunotherapy.
For the next forty years Coley headed the Bone Tumor Service at Memorial Hospital in New York where he injected more than 100 cancer patients with bacterial products. He and other doctors used these products, known as Coley's Toxins, and reported excellent results. The best results were in bone and soft tissue sarcomas.
In general, the medical industry did not believe his results and he and his colleagues were criticized. This, along with the development of radiation therapy and chemotherapy, overshadowed Coley's results and his work faded from use.
Modern immunological science has shown that his ideas were correct and a preferred treatment for some cancers.
After his death, his daughter, Helen Lancaster Coley Nauts, found his manuscripts and decided to champion her father's work. With help from Oliver R. Grace Sr. and $2000 from John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s son Nelson, she founded the Cancer Research Institute which is still helping cancer patients to this day.
William Bradley Coley was a surgeon practicing in New York City in the late 1800s. Unsatisfied with surgical solutions to cancer, especially after he was unable to save a patient named Bessie Dashiell, he sought other solutions.
In 1891, inspired by a case he'd read about, Coley decided to try something new. He used streptococcal bacteria to purposely infect a New York City man named Zola, who had many advanced tumors including one in his throat that prevented him from eating. The treatment worked and was one of the first examples of immunotherapy.
For the next forty years Coley headed the Bone Tumor Service at Memorial Hospital in New York where he injected more than 100 cancer patients with bacterial products. He and other doctors used these products, known as Coley's Toxins, and reported excellent results. The best results were in bone and soft tissue sarcomas.
In general, the medical industry did not believe his results and he and his colleagues were criticized. This, along with the development of radiation therapy and chemotherapy, overshadowed Coley's results and his work faded from use.
Modern immunological science has shown that his ideas were correct and a preferred treatment for some cancers.
After his death, his daughter, Helen Lancaster Coley Nauts, found his manuscripts and decided to champion her father's work. With help from Oliver R. Grace Sr. and $2000 from John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s son Nelson, she founded the Cancer Research Institute which is still helping cancer patients to this day.
Innovative Physician, Known as the Father of Immunotherapy.
William Bradley Coley was a surgeon practicing in New York City in the late 1800s. Unsatisfied with surgical solutions to cancer, especially after he was unable to save a patient named Bessie Dashiell, he sought other solutions.
In 1891, inspired by a case he'd read about, Coley decided to try something new. He used streptococcal bacteria to purposely infect a New York City man named Zola, who had many advanced tumors including one in his throat that prevented him from eating. The treatment worked and was one of the first examples of immunotherapy.
For the next forty years Coley headed the Bone Tumor Service at Memorial Hospital in New York where he injected more than 100 cancer patients with bacterial products. He and other doctors used these products, known as Coley's Toxins, and reported excellent results. The best results were in bone and soft tissue sarcomas.
In general, the medical industry did not believe his results and he and his colleagues were criticized. This, along with the development of radiation therapy and chemotherapy, overshadowed Coley's results and his work faded from use.
Modern immunological science has shown that his ideas were correct and a preferred treatment for some cancers.
After his death, his daughter, Helen Lancaster Coley Nauts, found his manuscripts and decided to champion her father's work. With help from Oliver R. Grace Sr. and $2000 from John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s son Nelson, she founded the Cancer Research Institute which is still helping cancer patients to this day.
William Bradley Coley was a surgeon practicing in New York City in the late 1800s. Unsatisfied with surgical solutions to cancer, especially after he was unable to save a patient named Bessie Dashiell, he sought other solutions.
In 1891, inspired by a case he'd read about, Coley decided to try something new. He used streptococcal bacteria to purposely infect a New York City man named Zola, who had many advanced tumors including one in his throat that prevented him from eating. The treatment worked and was one of the first examples of immunotherapy.
For the next forty years Coley headed the Bone Tumor Service at Memorial Hospital in New York where he injected more than 100 cancer patients with bacterial products. He and other doctors used these products, known as Coley's Toxins, and reported excellent results. The best results were in bone and soft tissue sarcomas.
In general, the medical industry did not believe his results and he and his colleagues were criticized. This, along with the development of radiation therapy and chemotherapy, overshadowed Coley's results and his work faded from use.
Modern immunological science has shown that his ideas were correct and a preferred treatment for some cancers.
After his death, his daughter, Helen Lancaster Coley Nauts, found his manuscripts and decided to champion her father's work. With help from Oliver R. Grace Sr. and $2000 from John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s son Nelson, she founded the Cancer Research Institute which is still helping cancer patients to this day.
Bio by: Sharon Historical Society
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