1 WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION INTERNATIONAL AGENCY FOR RESEARCH ON CANCER The Origin of the International Agency for Research on Cancer By R. Sohier and A.G.B. Sutherland Translated by John Cheney IARC Technical Report No. 6 Lyon 2015 2 Published by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, 150 cours Albert Thomas, 69372 Lyon Cedex 08, France © International Agency for Research on Cancer, 2015 Translation of: La genèse du Centre international de Recherche sur le Cancer (Rapport technique du CIRC No. 6), 1990 ISBN 978-92-832-2455-6 Publications of the World Health Organization enjoy copyright protection in accordance with the provisions of Protocol 2 of the Universal Copyright Convention. All rights reserved. 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Note from the translator: This account of the process by which IARC came into being in the 1960s is based largely upon official documents, working papers, and correspondence that have been preserved, although much seems to have been lost. This material is largely in English, and it has been possible to refer to it in making the present English edition of the work by Sohier and Sutherland. Where possible, documents cited in full are copied from the original English, while for others that were summarized, as much as possible of the phraseology of the original English has been used, rather than making new translations to English from the earlier French edition. This will account for some small discrepancies in sense between the two editions. Certain corrections have also been made to errors that became evident during the process of translation. In certain cases, only a French document has survived even though an English version must have existed at the time, notably for the papers relating to the February 1964 meeting. Such documents have been freshly translated into English, but the result will inevitably differ somewhat from the official original English version. 3 Table of Contents Foreword ........................................................................................................................6 Introduction ....................................................................................................................7 1. The Conception of IARC First proposal .................................................................................................................8 Second proposal .............................................................................................................8 2. The Foundation of IARC Letter of President de Gaulle for the foundation of an international institute .............12 Reception of the project for an international institute for combating cancer ..............12 Reception in France ...............................................................................................13 Reception by international organizations...............................................................14 Reception by the states called to join in establishing IARC ..................................32 3. The Launch of IARC Period from 9 November 1963 to 20 May 1965 ..........................................................34 First steps ...............................................................................................................34 Participation in meetings and technical conferences .............................................35 Period from May 1965 to April 1967 ..........................................................................38 Inauguration of the International Agency for Research on Cancer .......................39 Meeting of the Governing Council ........................................................................39 Location of IARC ..................................................................................................40 Meeting of the Scientific Council ..........................................................................40 Appointment of the Director of IARC ...................................................................41 Director’s Annual Report for 1966 ........................................................................41 Addendum to the Director’s Annual Report for 1966 ...........................................43 Director’s Interim Report for 1967 ........................................................................45 Period from June 1967 to June 1972............................................................................50 Annexes Annex 1. First Steps .....................................................................................................53 Annex 2. Conferences Organized by WHO in Paris....................................................54 First Technical Conference (17–18 December 1963) ............................................54 Second Technical Conference (27–28 February 1964) .........................................54 Draft convention ..............................................................................................54 Text prepared by the experts ............................................................................59 Conclusions of the Second Technical Conference ...........................................62 Memorandum from the French Government ...................................................62 Appendix ..........................................................................................................64 Tentative estimation of the defence budgets ....................................................65 Third Technical Conference (27 July 1964) ..........................................................65 4 Fourth Technical Conference (29 September–2 October 1964) ............................66 Annex 3. Meetings Organized by WHO in Lyon ........................................................68 Preparatory meetings for the establishment of an International Agency for Research on Cancer (Lyon, 16–18 February 1965) ...............................................68 First meeting (16 February 1965) ....................................................................68 Second meeting (17 February 1965, morning) ................................................68 Third meeting (17 February 1965, afternoon) .................................................69 Fourth meeting (18 February 1965, morning) .................................................69 Aide-mémoire on the membership of the Provisional Scientific Committee ..70 Preparatory meetings for the Scientific Committee ...............................................71 Proposal for a cancer research information centre ...........................................71 Opportunities for epidemiological study .........................................................72 Opportunities for study on pathology ..............................................................74 Proposal for training activities .........................................................................75 Meeting for the establishment of an International Agency for Research on Cancer Meeting of the Scientific Committee (Lyon, 30 March–2 April 1965) ...........76 General considerations ...............................................................................77 Information services...................................................................................77 Training of research workers .....................................................................77 Pathology ...................................................................................................78 Epidemiology .............................................................................................78 Comparative oncology ...............................................................................79 Support for research ...................................................................................79 Special projects ..........................................................................................79 Budget ........................................................................................................79 Estimated costs of the proposed programmes ............................................80 Second Preparatory Meeting for the Establishment of an International Agency for Research on Cancer (Lyon, 5–6 April 1965) ................................80 First session (5 April, morning) .................................................................80 Second session (5 April, 2:30 pm) .............................................................81 Third session (5 April, 4 pm) .....................................................................82 Annex 4. Official Records of WHO for the Establishment of an International Agency for Research on Cancer ..................................................................................83 Seventeenth World Health Assembly