Editing Paul Ehrlich (section)

===Cancer research===
In 1901, the Prussian Ministry of Finance criticised Ehrlich for exceeding his budget and as a consequence reduced his income. In this situation Althoff arranged a contact with Georg Speyer, a Jewish philanthropist and joint owner of the bank house Lazard Speyer-Ellissen. The cancerous disease of [[Victoria, Princess Royal|Princess Victoria]], the widow of the German Emperor Friedrich III, had received much public attention and prompted a collection among wealthy Frankfurt citizens, including Speyer, in support of cancer research. Ehrlich had also received from [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|the German Emperor Wilhelm II]] a personal request to devote all his energy to cancer research. Such efforts led to the founding of a department for cancer research affiliated with the Institute of Experimental Therapy. The chemist [[Gustav Embden]], among others, worked there. Ehrlich informed his sponsors that cancer research meant basic research, and that a cure could not be expected soon.

Among the results achieved by Ehrlich and his research colleagues was the insight that when tumors are cultivated by transplanting tumor cells, their malignancy increases from generation to generation. If the primary tumor is removed, then [[metastasis]] precipitously increases. Ehrlich applied bacteriological methods to cancer research. In analogy to vaccination, he attempted to generate immunity to cancer by injecting weakened cancer cells. Both in cancer research and chemotherapy research (see below) he introduced the methodologies of [[Big Science]].