December 12, 1951.
Ref. NC-RB-BS

Dr. H. B. Andervont
National Cancer Inatitute
Bethedia 14, Maryland

Dear Dr. Andervont:

I was very moh gratified to receive your letter of December 10,
About a week ago, I replied in the negative to the formal invitation to
the conference, as tendered from the American Cancer Society. If you
are agreeable, and have not solicited another speaker, I should like
to cancel that negative.

Frankly, the apparent tone of the program had frightened me off.
I have not thought about things oncological for some time, and have seen
enough speculation byppeople who, like myself, know very little about
cancer that I did not wish to add to the heap. I think that support of
fundamental biological research is a necessary part of long term planning
in cancer research, but there tends to be a compihsion to premature justi-
fication of such work in relation to cancer.

Your letter, abd its igdication of the speakers you had invited,
put an entirely different light on the purposes of this section of the.
conference, than was indicated in the general program. Microbial genetics
very likely can broaden our insight into the kind of biology we need to
know to underatand cancer, and to suggest working hypotheses for approaches
to it, but these applications should be made in the laboratory, and not
on a speaker's platform. If, as your letter suggests, I will not be con-
strained to relate this subject specifically to cancer, I will be pleased
to swamarise briefly some of our work in bacterial genetics. But this is
not to ineiet that the oncologist will find nothing of interest in it.

Please Lethns know if you wieh me still to submit an advance abstract
of intemied remarks, as requested for not later than January 15.

With ay appreciation for the cordiality and confidence of your
letter,

Sincerely yours,

Joshua Lederberg
Associate Professor of Genetics