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This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2007.117440v1 AJPH.2007.117440v2 98/12/2150    most recent Submit a response View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Web of Science (1) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Lilienfeld, D. E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Lilienfeld, D. E. Related Collections Epidemiology History Surveillance Cancer

David E. Lilienfeld, MD, MBA, MPH, MSEngin

The author is with FibroGen Inc, South San Francisco, CA, and the Department of Health Research and Policy, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA.

Correspondence: Correspondence should be sent to David E. Lilienfeld (e-mail: Lilienfeld{at}comcast.net).

The development of modern epidemiology, particularly cancer epidemiology, is often seen as a post–World War II phenomenon. However, the First National Cancer Survey, conducted from 1937 to 1939 as part of the newly formed National Cancer Institute's initial activities, provided the first data on the occurrence of cancer in the United States. This project was directed by a young sociologist, Harold Fred Dorn. Through Dorn, many of the methodological innovations in sociology, such as the use of surveys and observational study designs, were incorporated into modern epidemiology. I examine Dorn's training and early career in the context of the First National Cancer Survey as a means of investigating the beginnings of modern epidemiology.