The International Union Against Can- knowledge of what to do or how to do it; cer convened a Conference on the to identify the nature of, and reason for, Chemotherapy of Choriocarcinoma in the successful chemotherapeutic results in Baguio City, Philippines to focus atten- trophoblastic neoplasia (whether this be tion on the therapy of neoplasms of the specificity of drugs, the nature of the trophoblast. allogenic graft or characteristics of the Cures of cancer are of concern to every specific cells); and to determine the cau- man. The oldest therapy of cancer likely ses for failures (whether it be advanced consisted of herbs, potions and incanta- and long-standing disease, inappropriate tions. Cures may first have been achieved dosage regimens, or inherent resistance of in the murky annals of early civilization the tumors treated). If this first chemo- with local chemical cautery. The first therapeutically curable cancer can serve successes of surgery are lost in antiquity as a model for the chemotherapy of other and probably were amputations. Radia- autochthonous tumors, the therapeutic tion therapy was first used for cure in the principles may be useful for extrapolation early years of the 20th century. Curabil- to other tumors. Such unique maracteris- ityof the first cancer with drugs is a recent tics as the temnique of dosing and the phenomenon: choriocarcinoma in 1956.
