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Denis Parsons Burkitt

January 01, 1970

Denis Parsons Burkitt, MD, FRCS(Ed), FRS[1] (28 February 1911 – 23 March 1993) was an Irish surgeon who made significant advances in health, such as the aetiology of a pediatric cancer, now called Burkitt's lymphoma, and the finding that rates of colorectal cancer are higher in those who eat limited dietary fibre.

Denis Parsons Burkitt
Born28 February 1911
Enniskillen, Ireland
Died23 March 1993 (aged 82)
Gloucester, England
NationalityBritish
Known forBurkitt's lymphoma, Cancer
AwardsPaul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize (1972)
Charles S. Mott Prize (1982)
Buchanan Medal (1992)
Fellow of the Royal Society[1]
Scientific career
FieldsSurgeon

Life and death edit

Burkitt was born in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Ireland. He was the son of James Parsons Burkitt, a civil engineer. Aged eleven he lost his right eye in an accident. He attended Portora Royal School in Enniskillen and Dean Close School, England. In 1929 Burkitt entered Trinity College, Dublin to study engineering, but believing his evangelical calling was to be a doctor, he transferred to medicine and graduated in 1935. In 1938 he passed the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh fellowship examinations. On 28 July 1943 he married Olive Rogers.[2]

During World War II, Burkitt served with the Royal Army Medical Corps in England and later in Kenya and Somaliland. After the war, Burkitt decided his future lay in medical service in the developing world and he moved to Uganda. He eventually settled in Kampala and remained there until 1964.

Burkitt was president of the Christian Medical Fellowship and wrote frequently on religious/medical themes. In 1979, he became an honorary fellow of Trinity College Dublin.[3] He received the Bower Award and Prize in 1992. He died of a stroke on 23 March 1993 in Gloucester and was buried in Bisley, Gloucestershire, England.[4]

Scientific contributions edit

Burkitt made two major contributions to medical science related to his experience in Africa.

Burkitt's lymphoma edit

Main article: Burkitt's lymphoma

The first was the description, distribution, and ultimately, the aetiology of a pediatric cancer that bears his name, Burkitt's lymphoma.[5]

Burkitt in 1957 observed a child with swellings in the angles of the jaw. "About two weeks later ... I looked out the window and saw another child with a swollen face ... and began to investigate these jaw tumours."[6] "Having an intensely enquiring mind, Burkitt took the details of these cases to the records department ... which showed that jaw tumours were common, [and] were often associated with other tumours at unusual sites"[7] in children in Uganda. He kept copious notes and concluded that these apparently different childhood cancers were all manifestations of a single type of malignancy.[8] Burkitt published A sarcoma involving the jaws of African children.[9] The newly identified cancer became known as "Burkitt's lymphoma". He went on to map the geographical distribution of the tumour. Burkitt, together with Dennis Wright,[10] published a book titled Burkitt's Lymphoma in April 1970.[11]

Dietary fibre edit

His second major contribution came when, on his return to Britain, Burkitt compared the pattern of diseases in African hospitals with Western diseases. He concluded that many Western diseases which were rare in Africa were the result of diet and lifestyle. He wrote a book, Don't Forget Fibre in your Diet,[12] which became an international bestseller.

Burkitt suggested that higher fibre intake can reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. This was based on observations of the difference in patterns of diseases between Western and traditional African societies. Burkitt noted the lower rates of colorectal cancer in African countries compared to the West. He also found that African diets were generally higher in dietary fibre.[13]

Recent research has found that "consuming 10 g more total dietary fibre a day is associated with an average 10% reduction in risk of colorectal cancer"[14] and a diet high in dietary fibre is also advised as a precaution against other diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.[15]

Publications by Burkitt edit

Academic journals

  • Burkitt, D. P. (1972). "Varicose Veins, Deep Vein Thrombosis, and Haemorrhoids: Epidemiology and Suggested Aetiology". British Medical Journal. 2 (5813): 556–561. doi:10.1136/bmj.2.5813.556. PMC 1788140. PMID 5032782.
  • Burkitt, D. P. (1973). "Some diseases characteristic of modern Western civilization". British Medical Journal. 1 (5848): 274–278. doi:10.1136/bmj.1.5848.274. PMC 1588096. PMID 4568142.
  • Burkitt, D. P. (1981). "Hiatus hernia: Is it preventable?". The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 34 (3): 428–431. doi:10.1093/ajcn/34.3.428. PMID 6259926.

Books

  • Burkitt, D. P.; Wright, D. H. (1970). Burkitt's Lymphoma. Livingstone. ISBN 0443007004. LCCN 72021505.[16]
  • Burkitt, D. P.; Trowell, H. C. (1981). Western diseases, their emergence and prevention. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-95020-7.
  • Kellock B, Burkitt D. P. The Fibre Man: The Life-story of Dr. Denis Burkitt: Lion Pub.; 1985.

References edit

  1. ^ a b Epstein, A.; Eastwood, M. A. (1995). "Denis Parsons Burkitt. 28 February 1911 – 23 March 1993". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 41: 88–102. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1995.0006. PMID 11615366. S2CID 24411537.
  2. ^ "Burkitt, Denis Parsons". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/57333. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ Webb, D.A. (1992). J.R., Barlett (ed.). Trinity College Dublin Record Volume 1991. Dublin: Trinity College Dublin Press. ISBN 1-871408-07-5.
  4. ^ "Dr. Denis Burkitt Is Dead at 82; Thesis Changed Diets of Millions". The New York Times. 16 April 1993. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  5. ^ McKinnell, Robert Gilmore; Parchment, Ralph E.; Perantoni, Alan O.; Damjanov, Ivan; Pierce, G. Barry (2006). The biological basis of cancer (2nd ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 257. ISBN 978-0-521-84458-1. OCLC 537382803.
  6. ^ Denis P. Burkitt, "Discovering Burkitt's Lymphoma" in Paul H. Levine, Epstein-Barr Virus and Human Disease (Humana Press 1987) p. xxi
  7. ^ M. Anthony Epstein, "The Origins of EBV Research" in Erle S. Robertson, Epstein-Barr Virus (2005) p. 2 ISBN 978-1904455035
  8. ^ Epstein, "Origins" p. 2
  9. ^ Burkitt, D. (1958). "A sarcoma involving the jaws in African children". The British Journal of Surgery. 46 (197): 218–223. doi:10.1002/bjs.18004619704. PMID 13628987. S2CID 46452308.
  10. ^ Biography Dennis Wright 26 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Burkitt, D. P; Wright, Dennis H (1970). Burkitt's lymphoma. Livingstone. ISBN 978-0-443-00700-2. OCLC 125974.[page needed]
  12. ^ Burkitt, Denis (1979). Don't forget fibre in your diet: to help avoid many of our commonest diseases. London: Martin Dunitz Ltd. ISBN 978-0-906348-07-9. OCLC 12583461.
  13. ^ Lewin, M. R. (January 1991). "Is There a Fibre-Depleted Aetiology for Colorectal Cancer? Experimental Evidence". Reviews on Environmental Health. 9 (1): 17–30. doi:10.1515/reveh.1991.9.1.17. PMID 1659729. S2CID 25147372.
  14. ^ Key TJ, Bradbury KE, Perez-Cornago A, Sinha R, Tsilidis KK, Tsugane S. (2020). "Diet, nutrition, and cancer risk: what do we know and what is the way forward?". BMJ. 368: m996. doi:10.1136/bmj.m511. PMC 7190379. PMID 32139373.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Park, Y.; Hunter, D. J.; Spiegelman, D.; Bergkvist, L.; Berrino, F.; Van Den Brandt, P. A.; Buring, J. E.; Colditz, G. A.; Freudenheim, J. L. (2005). "Dietary Fibre Intake and Risk of Colorectal Cancer: A Pooled Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies". JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association. 294 (22): 2849–57. doi:10.1001/jama.294.22.2849. PMID 16352792.
  16. ^ Wiltshaw, E. (1971). "Book Review: Burkitt's Lymphoma". Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine. 64: 99. doi:10.1177/003591577106400161. S2CID 199613613.

Further reading edit

  • Smith, Richard D. (4 March 1976). "Checking Out the Fiber Fad". The Sciences. 16 (2): 25–29. doi:10.1002/j.2326-1951.1976.tb01217.x.
  • Cummings, John H.; Engineer, Amanda (June 2018). "Denis Burkitt and the origins of the dietary fibre hypothesis". Nutrition Research Reviews. 31 (1): 1–15. doi:10.1017/S0954422417000117. PMID 28583217. S2CID 21684191.
  • Cummings, John H. (2022). Denis Burkitt. Springer Biographies. Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-88563-2. ISBN 978-3-030-88562-5. S2CID 246946174.

External links edit

  • A 1990 interview with Burkitt
  • Burkitt's entry at Whonamedit?, a biographical dictionary of medical eponyms
  • A portrait of Burkitt

January 01, 1970
denis, parsons, burkitt, frcs, february, 1911, march, 1993, irish, surgeon, made, significant, advances, health, such, aetiology, pediatric, cancer, called, burkitt, lymphoma, finding, that, rates, colorectal, cancer, higher, those, limited, dietary, fibre, bo. Denis Parsons Burkitt MD FRCS Ed FRS 1 28 February 1911 23 March 1993 was an Irish surgeon who made significant advances in health such as the aetiology of a pediatric cancer now called Burkitt s lymphoma and the finding that rates of colorectal cancer are higher in those who eat limited dietary fibre Denis Parsons BurkittBorn28 February 1911Enniskillen IrelandDied23 March 1993 aged 82 Gloucester EnglandNationalityBritishKnown forBurkitt s lymphoma CancerAwardsPaul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize 1972 Charles S Mott Prize 1982 Buchanan Medal 1992 Fellow of the Royal Society 1 Scientific careerFieldsSurgeon Contents 1 Life and death 2 Scientific contributions 2 1 Burkitt s lymphoma 2 2 Dietary fibre 3 Publications by Burkitt 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksLife and death editBurkitt was born in Enniskillen County Fermanagh Ireland He was the son of James Parsons Burkitt a civil engineer Aged eleven he lost his right eye in an accident He attended Portora Royal School in Enniskillen and Dean Close School England In 1929 Burkitt entered Trinity College Dublin to study engineering but believing his evangelical calling was to be a doctor he transferred to medicine and graduated in 1935 In 1938 he passed the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh fellowship examinations On 28 July 1943 he married Olive Rogers 2 During World War II Burkitt served with the Royal Army Medical Corps in England and later in Kenya and Somaliland After the war Burkitt decided his future lay in medical service in the developing world and he moved to Uganda He eventually settled in Kampala and remained there until 1964 Burkitt was president of the Christian Medical Fellowship and wrote frequently on religious medical themes In 1979 he became an honorary fellow of Trinity College Dublin 3 He received the Bower Award and Prize in 1992 He died of a stroke on 23 March 1993 in Gloucester and was buried in Bisley Gloucestershire England 4 Scientific contributions editBurkitt made two major contributions to medical science related to his experience in Africa Burkitt s lymphoma edit Main article Burkitt s lymphoma The first was the description distribution and ultimately the aetiology of a pediatric cancer that bears his name Burkitt s lymphoma 5 Burkitt in 1957 observed a child with swellings in the angles of the jaw About two weeks later I looked out the window and saw another child with a swollen face and began to investigate these jaw tumours 6 Having an intensely enquiring mind Burkitt took the details of these cases to the records department which showed that jaw tumours were common and were often associated with other tumours at unusual sites 7 in children in Uganda He kept copious notes and concluded that these apparently different childhood cancers were all manifestations of a single type of malignancy 8 Burkitt published A sarcoma involving the jaws of African children 9 The newly identified cancer became known as Burkitt s lymphoma He went on to map the geographical distribution of the tumour Burkitt together with Dennis Wright 10 published a book titled Burkitt s Lymphoma in April 1970 11 Dietary fibre edit His second major contribution came when on his return to Britain Burkitt compared the pattern of diseases in African hospitals with Western diseases He concluded that many Western diseases which were rare in Africa were the result of diet and lifestyle He wrote a book Don t Forget Fibre in your Diet 12 which became an international bestseller Burkitt suggested that higher fibre intake can reduce the risk of colorectal cancer This was based on observations of the difference in patterns of diseases between Western and traditional African societies Burkitt noted the lower rates of colorectal cancer in African countries compared to the West He also found that African diets were generally higher in dietary fibre 13 Recent research has found that consuming 10 g more total dietary fibre a day is associated with an average 10 reduction in risk of colorectal cancer 14 and a diet high in dietary fibre is also advised as a precaution against other diseases such as heart disease and diabetes 15 Publications by Burkitt editAcademic journals Burkitt D P 1972 Varicose Veins Deep Vein Thrombosis and Haemorrhoids Epidemiology and Suggested Aetiology British Medical Journal 2 5813 556 561 doi 10 1136 bmj 2 5813 556 PMC 1788140 PMID 5032782 Burkitt D P 1973 Some diseases characteristic of modern Western civilization British Medical Journal 1 5848 274 278 doi 10 1136 bmj 1 5848 274 PMC 1588096 PMID 4568142 Burkitt D P 1981 Hiatus hernia Is it preventable The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 34 3 428 431 doi 10 1093 ajcn 34 3 428 PMID 6259926 Books Burkitt D P Wright D H 1970 Burkitt s Lymphoma Livingstone ISBN 0443007004 LCCN 72021505 16 Burkitt D P Trowell H C 1981 Western diseases their emergence and prevention Cambridge Harvard University Press ISBN 978 0 674 95020 7 Kellock B Burkitt D P The Fibre Man The Life story of Dr Denis Burkitt Lion Pub 1985 References edit a b Epstein A Eastwood M A 1995 Denis Parsons Burkitt 28 February 1911 23 March 1993 Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 41 88 102 doi 10 1098 rsbm 1995 0006 PMID 11615366 S2CID 24411537 Burkitt Denis Parsons Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 57333 Subscription or UK public library membership required Webb D A 1992 J R Barlett ed Trinity College Dublin Record Volume 1991 Dublin Trinity College Dublin Press ISBN 1 871408 07 5 Dr Denis Burkitt Is Dead at 82 Thesis Changed Diets of Millions The New York Times 16 April 1993 Retrieved 4 January 2023 McKinnell Robert Gilmore Parchment Ralph E Perantoni Alan O Damjanov Ivan Pierce G Barry 2006 The biological basis of cancer 2nd ed New York Cambridge University Press p 257 ISBN 978 0 521 84458 1 OCLC 537382803 Denis P Burkitt Discovering Burkitt s Lymphoma in Paul H Levine Epstein Barr Virus and Human Disease Humana Press 1987 p xxi M Anthony Epstein The Origins of EBV Research in Erle S Robertson Epstein Barr Virus 2005 p 2 ISBN 978 1904455035 Epstein Origins p 2 Burkitt D 1958 A sarcoma involving the jaws in African children The British Journal of Surgery 46 197 218 223 doi 10 1002 bjs 18004619704 PMID 13628987 S2CID 46452308 Biography Dennis Wright Archived 26 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine Burkitt D P Wright Dennis H 1970 Burkitt s lymphoma Livingstone ISBN 978 0 443 00700 2 OCLC 125974 page needed Burkitt Denis 1979 Don t forget fibre in your diet to help avoid many of our commonest diseases London Martin Dunitz Ltd ISBN 978 0 906348 07 9 OCLC 12583461 Lewin M R January 1991 Is There a Fibre Depleted Aetiology for Colorectal Cancer Experimental Evidence Reviews on Environmental Health 9 1 17 30 doi 10 1515 reveh 1991 9 1 17 PMID 1659729 S2CID 25147372 Key TJ Bradbury KE Perez Cornago A Sinha R Tsilidis KK Tsugane S 2020 Diet nutrition and cancer risk what do we know and what is the way forward BMJ 368 m996 doi 10 1136 bmj m511 PMC 7190379 PMID 32139373 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Park Y Hunter D J Spiegelman D Bergkvist L Berrino F Van Den Brandt P A Buring J E Colditz G A Freudenheim J L 2005 Dietary Fibre Intake and Risk of Colorectal Cancer A Pooled Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies JAMA The Journal of the American Medical Association 294 22 2849 57 doi 10 1001 jama 294 22 2849 PMID 16352792 Wiltshaw E 1971 Book Review Burkitt s Lymphoma Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine 64 99 doi 10 1177 003591577106400161 S2CID 199613613 Further reading editSmith Richard D 4 March 1976 Checking Out the Fiber Fad The Sciences 16 2 25 29 doi 10 1002 j 2326 1951 1976 tb01217 x Cummings John H Engineer Amanda June 2018 Denis Burkitt and the origins of the dietary fibre hypothesis Nutrition Research Reviews 31 1 1 15 doi 10 1017 S0954422417000117 PMID 28583217 S2CID 21684191 Cummings John H 2022 Denis Burkitt Springer Biographies Springer doi 10 1007 978 3 030 88563 2 ISBN 978 3 030 88562 5 S2CID 246946174 External links editA 1990 interview with Burkitt Burkitt s entry at Whonamedit a biographical dictionary of medical eponyms A portrait of Burkitt Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Denis Parsons Burkitt amp oldid 1214325019, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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