Chester M. Southam

Chester M. Southam (1919–2002), a virologist, wanted to be sure that the cancer in the HeLa cells, which he and other doctors were using for tests, were not contagious. At this time in history,1954, cancer was still a mystery. He assumed there was a valid risk of causing cancer, and as a cancer researcher, he wanted to know for sure.

In 1954, he conducted his first experiment by injecting a leukemia patient with HeLa cells to see if they would cause tumors to grow. He repeated this experiment on several other cancer patients. None of these patients knew they were experimentation subjects, they all thought the injections were for testing. Some patients grew tumors that later were surgically removed and some tumors grew and vanished on their own. In four patients the tumors grew back; one patient died from the HeLa cancer. Based on these results there was evidence to support his theory.

The next question for Southam was: Would this same thing happen in people who did not already have cancer? Therefore, in 1956 he started looking for inmates to test. He found a group of willing men at Ohio State Penitentiary. This time, the test subjects knew they were having cancer injected into them. Some felt it was a way to return their debt to society. In all cases, tumors began to grow but as these men were all healthy and cancer free, their immune system fought off the cancer.

Southam went on with his experiments. He tested a mixture of cancer patients, gynecology patients at Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research and others by injecting them with the cancerous cells. They did not know they were receiving cancer cell injections. Southam did not want to frighten them. In addition, as he was not their Doctor he did not feel he needed to disclose this information.

It was not until 1963, when he was doing a study on cancer at the Jewish Chronic Disease Hospital, that he eventually faced doctors who refused to continue without the patients having full knowledge of the research and giving their consent. They reported him to the Regents of the University of the State of New York and an investigation followed. During the investigation Dr. Southam defended he believed the patients faced no risk of harm. He justified his actions stating they were standard practice. He believed his tests would be beneficial for future medicinal knowledge. He was not alone in this belief; some prominent doctors supported his view. However, the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York found him guilty of unprofessionalism and deceit. He had his medical license suspended for one year. # He was later elected Vice President of the American Cancer Society.