Angel Honorio Roffo Gazzo, Argentine oncologist (Buenos Aires 30 December 1882 – Buenos Aires 24 July 1947)

Performed over 400 studies about cancer and authored 6 books

ACHIEVEMENTS

Recognized tobacco as most significant cause of lung cancer

Realized that the tar in cigarettes was primarily cancer responsible

Identified polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as the principal carcinogenic agents in tobacco

His discoveries about tobacco as agent of cancer were forgotten and rediscovered by European and US researchers a few decades later

Suggested a relationship between skin cancer and overexposure to the Sun

Krebs und Sarcom durch Ultraviolett und Sonnenstrahlen. Zeitschrift fur Krebsforschung 41:448-67, 1935. 

Performed the first studies about action spectrum of skin photocarcinogenesis (1939)  

Showed that cholesterol is found in all malignant tumors of the skin and it is susceptible to the influence of solar radiations

Described and named nodular myolisis

Miolisis nodular de la lengua. Prensa Med. Arg. 15:78-81, 1928-9

Developed Roffo neutral red reaction or test for cancer diagnosis 

With R. Rivarola. Reacción del rojo neutro en el cancer: su valor diagnostico. Bol. Inst. Med. Exper. Estudo Trat. Cancer 2:709-716, 1925.

Described Roffo biological reaction of spleen

La reacción biologica del bazo en el cancer provocado por la sangre humana de cancerosos. Bol. Inst. Med. Exper. Est. Trat. Cancer 10:745-56, 1933

Developed a stable compound with selenium, rubidium and eosine for cancer treatment

Developed a “culture box” for sterilization in autoclave

Honored in eponym Roffo sarcoma

HONORS

Gold Medal, International Congress of Hygiene, Rome (1912)

Bauti Prize, Universitá di Firenze (1936)

Medicine & Physiology Nobel Prize nominee (1927, 1937 & 1940)

His son, Angel Eduardo Roffo Larroque, oncologist  and biophysicist (Buenos Aires 14 July 1909 – La Lucila, Buenos Aires Province 09 September 1985)

ACHIEVEMENTS

A new technique for determination of fluorescence

Nueva tecnica de la determinación de la fluorescencia en el Instituto de Medicina Experimental. Bol. Inst. Med. Exper. Estudo Trat. Cancer 58:975, 1941

A new filter for photo-fluorescence

Un Nuevo filtro para la fotofluorescencia. Bol. Inst. Med. Exper. Estudo Trat. Cancer 59: 93, 1942   

A new method of calculating the dosage of radium

Nueva regla de calculo para mediciones em la radiumtherapia. Bol. Inst. Med. Exper. Estudo Trat. Cancer 59: 83-92, 1942

New technique for quantitative dosage of ultraviolet radiations

Nueva tecnica para la dosificación cuantitativa de las radiaciones ultraviolet en la practica del uso medico. Bol. Inst. Med. Exper. Estudo Trat. Cancer