The Life and Times of John Beard, DSc (1858-1924)

Abstract

The British developmental biologist John Beard, DSc (1858-1924) is little remembered today. Yet, he made outstanding contributions to the life sciences. Beard deserves to be included among the leading biologists of the late 19th and early 20th century. He has been hailed as a forerunner of the present-day theory of the cancer stem cell (CSC). He was the first to point to the parallels between cancer and the trophoblastic cells that envelop and nourish the embryo, characterizing cancer as “irresponsible trophoblast.” He pointed out that the initiation of fetal pancreatic function coincided with a reduction in the invasiveness of trophoblast, which otherwise might progress to clinical cancer (ie, choriocarcinoma). Based on the above propositions, he recommended the therapeutic use of pancreatic enzymes in treating cancer and other diseases. This therapy created a worldwide controversy, and although rejected in his day, persists in the world of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) today.