[The impact of germ theory in the genesis of cancer. Consequences for surgical treatment in the victorian era].

We use texts by preeminent figures in Victorian surgery at the end of the nineteenth century and information about their role in disseminating the germ theory to analyse the impact of this new etiologic element in the genesis of cancer. We trace the career of William Watson Cheyne (1852-1932), a disciple of Lister, and of many other surgeons of his generation, to outline the changes in the approach to treatment for cancer, the theoretical basis for these changes, and the role of a new conceptualization of cancer in the light of the microbial theory. This theory, among many other better-known factors, helped establish the foundation for radical surgery which became widespread in oncological treatment during the final decade of the nineteenth century.