Medicine: The Commoner Cancer Screen

Physicians smiled in disbelief a decade ago when Cancer Researcher Dr. John Higginson of the World Health Organization suggested that as many as 80% of all cancers were caused by agents in the environment. But no one is scoffing any more. The National Cancer Institute has published charts showing those areas of the country with the highest death rates from lung, liver and bladder cancer (see map); these areas also happen to have chemical plants—and chemical pollution. The obvious conclusion: Americans—and others elsewhere round the world—are increasingly filling their environment with chemicals that are not only harmful but may even be...