Katsusaburō Yamagiwa

Katsusaburō Yamagiwa (山極 勝三郎, Yamagiwa Katsusaburō, 23 February 1863 - 2 March 1930) was a Japanese pathologist who carried out pioneering work into the causes of cancer.^[1][2] He was the first to prove chemical carcinogenesis.^[3]

Life

Yamagiwa was born in Ueda, Nagano, the third son of the feudal retainer of the Ueda Domain in Shinano Province. He became the adopted son-in-law of Yoshiya Yamagiwa, a physician in Katsuya, Tokyo, and took the surname Yamagiwa. He completed his MD in 1888 from Imperial University of Tokyo. He was appointed as a professor at the Medical School, Imperial University of Tokyo and published his landmark work, Byōri Sōron Kōgi, in 1895.^[2][4]

Yamagiwa did all he could for the promotion of cancer research in Japan. In 1907 Cancer Science, peer-reviewed medical journal covering research in oncology, was first issued by him. In addition, he and his colleagues found the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research in 1908.

He died in Tokyo of pneumonia in 1930 at the age of 67.^[1][4]

Contribution

In a series of experiments conducted in 1915, Yamagiwa and his assistant Kōichi Ichikawa (1888 – 1948) induced squamous cell carcinomas on the ears of rabbits using coal tar, demonstrating the latter's carcinogenic properties.

Recognition

Yamagiwa and Ichikawa shared the Japan Academy Prize in 1919 for their work.

References