Dr. M. B. Sahasrabudhe
M.Sc., Ph.D. (London ) 9
FCAI, FMAS, FAMS.
Emeritus Scientist,

  
   

  

MAR 2 1987 4i Saras Baug,
Op, Sion-Trombay Road, 98
Deonar, Bomba: 00 0
or Tae pa India. y

| 19th February 1987.
Dear Professor Joshua Lederberg,

It was indeed extremely nice of you to
take the trouble of responding so very promptly to my letter
dated 12th January 1987. Your letter dated 26th January 1987
(bearing New York Post Mark of 28th January 1987) reached me
pelatedly on the 17th February 1987, possibly due to postal
delays at our end. I am very grateful to you for your very
valuable suggestions.

I have so far not approached either Sloan-
Kettering Institute or NCI, USA, for my project on early
detection of cancer. I am not averse to the idea but so far
4t has not materialized. My recent Visiting Professorship at
the University of Rochester Cancer Centre, Rochester N.Y., was
for an altogether different topic. It was at the kind invitation
of Professor Robert Sutherland, who was interested in six of ny
new class of radio-sensitizers for hypoxic tumours. I was at
Rochester for three months and I believe the trip was of
mutual benefit to both Professor Sutherland and myself. Professor
Sutherland plans to pursue work with my compounds and he has
already submitted a grant application to NCI, proposing to use
my compounds in his world famous spheroid model.

Your suggestion of harnessing the help of
pharmaceutical concerns is extremely valuable. If the attempts
bear fruits it would certainly be a great help in the speedy
transfer of laboratory investigation to practical applications
in the alleviation of human sufferings. Only the pharmaceutical
company would be in a position to produce and provide the
reagents required for multi-centre evaluation of early detection
of cancer methodology.

Moral support and patronage from a person
of your standing would certainly be a great help in seeing the
project through various stages of development. If I am not
encroaching on your valuable time, I would like to have your
continued active association throughout all the phases {and not
end with putting me in touch with pharmaceutical company) of
the project for alleviation of human suffering.

The principle aim of the project is picking
out persons at risk of cancers from the general population
long before the person at risk of cancer is even aware of the
presence of cancer in his/her body or even before any of the |
cancer related early warning symptoms motivate him/her to
seek medical advice. I am enclosing a brief write-up to aquaint
you of the rationale of our approach.
2.

You had raised a querry about the animal
experimentations I had mentioned in my last letter. Its chief
aim was to determine and demonstrate the lowest number of cancer
cells that could be detected by the method. This necessitates
working with animals with predetermined tumour loads ranging
from single cell to many thousands of cancer cells. Such data

aye not obtainable in humans. Determination of tumour loads in
humans can be obtained upto certain approximations, with the use
of two pronged probes mentioned in the enclosed brief write-up.

I am enclosing reprints of two of my publi-
shed papers and a brief write-up (un-published) for your perusal
and comments if any. I am also enclosing my C.V. as suggested
by you.

I had taken out a Provisional Patent around
1970 here in India, for the process of exposing tumour-mimetic
antigens on normal cell surfaces and their use in immuno-
therapy of leukemia. Patenting worldwide was a very expensive
proposition and beyond our means. Hence it was not done.

I had also obtained permission from the
Drug Control Administration of Government of India, for limited
use of my preparation (FDNB-tagged cells) in immunotherapy trial
in human leukemia cases. We had successfully demonstrated
therapeutic responses in over 30 human cases with no toxic
Side-effects whatsoever.

As an offshoot of the above therapeutic
trials, it 1s possible to produce cytolytic and agglutinating
human monoclonal immunoglobulins for use either/bé passive
cytolytic immunotherapy or for scavenging malignant celis from
circulation. I have however not pursued this to any great
extent but the methodology is available if some one is interested

The procedure that I am proposing for early
detection of cancer uses 300 times stronger tumour-mimetic
ant igengprepared by affinity chromatography method. The proposed
cancer detection method is entirely IN-VITRO, requiring about
one ml of blood readily obtainable from human subjects in their
periodic health check-ups.

. I would appreciate hearing your views in
the matter at your earliest convenience.

With kind regards,

Yours Sincerely,

Encl: As above. m. fs Sree t)

( M. B. Sahasrabudhe )

To,

Professor Joshua Lederberg
President,

The Rockefeller University,
1230 York Avenue

New York, New York 10021
U. S. A.