Ferrous Sulphate Poisoning in Children

The four patients whose case histories are presented above have certain features in common, apart from their site of origin. In all of them neoplastic change occurred after a long latent interval, which varied only between 26 and 30 years. They were all treated originally for benign conditions, and in three of them it is known that frequently repeated doses of x rays were given over a period of six months or more. In the'three patients treatedfor thyrotoxicosis the tumours had arisen approximately 4 cm. deep to the centre of the irradiated area of skin, and these three patients had all suffered severe radiation damage to the skin, two of them requiring excision and plastic repair for either epitheliomatous change or necrosis. Case 4 alone failed to show any convincing evidence of skin damage, and for this reason it is doubtful whether the tumour can be attributed to irradiation. However, this is a comparatively uncommon site for cancer, and it is difficult to be persuaded that its appearance was purely coincidental. Radiation is only one of many known carcinogenic agents, and, although it cannot be held solely responsible, it may well have been a contributory factor in the genesis of this tumour.