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Abstract
National Library of Medicine/Science Photo Library We report on an anatomical wax model (not shown) from the medical Dupuytren museum (Paris, France) with no linked archieve information, which appears to be a squamous cell carcinoma of the skin surrounding the testicule, also called chimney-sweep cancer. Even though chronic tar exposure and some halogenated hydrocarbons derived from chimney soot are now defined as carcinogens for humans and are a risk factor for squamous cell carcinoma, it is important to remember that their definition was only confirmed 140 years after Pott's first communication. Between 1914 and 1916, Japanese pathologist Katsusaburo Yamagiwa (1863–1930) and his assistant Koichi Kishikawa (1888–1948) did pioneering experiments into the cause of cancer, and for the first time induced an experimental squamous cell cancer model by repeatedly applying tar to the skin of rabbits' ears.
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1 Department of Health Sciences and Section of Medical and Forensic Anthropology University of Versailles Saint-Quentin, Montigny-Le-Bretonneux, France; Gustave Roussy Institut, Villejuif, France
2 Departement of Urology, Clinique Armand Brillard, Nogent-sur-Marne, France
3 Dupuytren Museum, Pierre and Marie Curie University, Paris, France
4 Gustave Roussy Institut, Villejuif, France; Quai Branly Museum, Paris, France