Who introduced the concept of chemotherapy?
Jun 12, 2014 · Over the years, chemotherapy drugs (chemo) have successfully treated many people with cancer. Long-term remissions and even cures of many patients with Hodgkin disease and childhood ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia) treated with chemo were first reported during the 1960s. Cures of testicular cancer were seen during the next decade.
What was the first chemotherapy drug?
Feb 26, 2019 · By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MD Reviewed by Sally Robertson, B.Sc. Chemotherapy was first developed at the beginning of the 20th century, although it was not originally intended as a cancer treatment....
Who invented the cure for cancer?
Oct 12, 2017 ·
Who was the father of chemotherapy?
When was chemo first used?
Chemotherapy was first developed at the beginning of the 20th century, although it was not originally intended as a cancer treatment. During World War II, it was discovered that people exposed to nitrogen mustard developed significantly reduced white blood cell counts.
When did cytotoxic agents start being used for cancer?
The scientists found that the patients tumour masses were significantly reduced for a few weeks after treatment and although the patient had to return to receive more chemotherapy, this marked the beginning of the use of cytotoxic agents for the treatment of cancer. The initial study was done in 1943 and the results were published in 1946.
Why did the death rate drop in 1990?
This fall in death rates is due to both early detection and treatment with chemotherapy agents.
When did vinca alkaloids become anticancer?
This led to the introduction of vinca alkaloids as anticancer agents in the 1960s. Examples include vinblastine used to treat Hodgkin's disease and vincristine used to treat pediatric leukemia. Over the next two decades, combination chemotherapy regimens started to gain popularity.
Who discovered mustard in the 1940s?
In the 1940s, two prominent Yale pharmacologists, Alfred Gilman and Louis Goodman examined the therapeutic effects of mustard agents in treating lymphoma. First, they established lymphomas in mice and showed that the tumors could be treated with mustard agents.
Is mustard good for lymphoma?
The use of nitrogen mustard for lymphomas gained popularity in the United States after the publication of the article in 1946. Nitrogen mustard and other derivatives of mustard gas are called alkylating agent due to their ability to alkylate molecules including protein, DNA and RNA.
What is the purpose of chemotherapy?
Chemotherapy may be given with a curative intent or it may aim to prolong life or to palliate symptoms . Induction chemotherapy is the first line treatment of cancer with a chemotherapeutic drug. This type of chemotherapy is used for curative intent.
When did the ASHP start regulating chemo?
In the 1970s, antineoplastic (chemotherapy) drugs were identified as hazardous, and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) has since then introduced the concept of hazardous drugs after publishing a recommendation in 1983 regarding handling hazardous drugs. The adaptation of federal regulations came when the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) first released its guidelines in 1986 and then updated them in 1996, 1999, and, most recently, 2006.
Why do cancer cells have resistance to chemotherapy?
Resistance is a major cause of treatment failure in chemotherapeutic drugs. There are a few possible causes of resistance in cancer, one of which is the presence of small pumps on the surface of cancer cells that actively move chemotherapy from inside the cell to the outside. Cancer cells produce high amounts of these pumps, known as p-glycoprotein, in order to protect themselves from chemotherapeutics. Research on p-glycoprotein and other such chemotherapy efflux pumps is currently ongoing. Medications to inhibit the function of p-glycoprotein are undergoing investigation, but due to toxicities and interactions with anti-cancer drugs their development has been difficult. Another mechanism of resistance is gene amplification, a process in which multiple copies of a gene are produced by cancer cells. This overcomes the effect of drugs that reduce the expression of genes involved in replication. With more copies of the gene, the drug can not prevent all expression of the gene and therefore the cell can restore its proliferative ability. Cancer cells can also cause defects in the cellular pathways of apoptosis (programmed cell death). As most chemotherapy drugs kill cancer cells in this manner, defective apoptosis allows survival of these cells, making them resistant. Many chemotherapy drugs also cause DNA damage, which can be repaired by enzymes in the cell that carry out DNA repair. Upregulation of these genes can overcome the DNA damage and prevent the induction of apoptosis. Mutations in genes that produce drug target proteins, such as tubulin, can occur which prevent the drugs from binding to the protein, leading to resistance to these types of drugs. Drugs used in chemotherapy can induce cell stress, which can kill a cancer cell; however, under certain conditions, cells stress can induce changes in gene expression that enables resistance to several types of drugs. In lung cancer, the transcription factor NFκB is thought to play a role in resistance to chemotherapy, via inflammatory pathways.
Why do women wear cold boots?
Cold mittens and cold booties are placed on her hands and feet to reduce harm to her nails. Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs ( chemotherapeutic agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen.
What is maintenance chemo?
Maintenance chemotherapy is a repeated low-dose treatment to prolong remission. Salvage chemotherapy or palliative chemotherapy is given without curative intent, but simply to decrease tumor load and increase life expectancy. For these regimens, in general, a better toxicity profile is expected.
Why do we need to repeat chemo?
Because only a fraction of the cells in a tumor die with each treatment ( fractional kill ), repeated doses must be administered to continue to reduce the size of the tumor. Current chemotherapy regimens apply drug treatment in cycles, with the frequency and duration of treatments limited by toxicity.
How long does it take for chemo to cause side effects?
Chemotherapy-related toxicities can occur acutely after administration, within hours or days, or chronically, from weeks to years .
When did chemotherapy start?
The era of cancer chemotherapy began in the 1940s with the first use of nitrogen mustards and folic acid antagonist drugs. The targeted therapy revolution has arrived, but many of the principles and limitations of chemotherapy discovered by the early researchers still apply.
Who is the father of modern chemo?
Sidney Farber 's work was instrumental in showing that effective pharmacological treatment of cancer was possible, and to this day, he is regarded as the father of modern chemotherapy. Shortly after World War II, a second approach to drug therapy of cancer began. Sidney Farber, a pathologist at Harvard Medical School, ...
What is the role of folic acid in DNA?
Folic acid, a vitamin crucial for DNA metabolism (the significance of DNA was not known at that time), had been discovered by Lucy Wills, when she was working in India, in 1937. It seemed to stimulate the proliferation of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells when administered to children with this cancer.
What was the first chemical warfare agent?
The beginnings of the modern era of cancer chemotherapy can be traced directly to the German introduction of chemical warfare during World War I. Among the chemical agents used, mustard gas was particularly devastating. Although banned by the Geneva Protocol in 1925, the advent of World War II caused concerns over the possible re-introduction of chemical warfare. Such concerns led to the discovery of nitrogen mustard, a chemical warfare agent, as an effective treatment for cancer. Two pharmacologists from the Yale School of Medicine, Louis S. Goodman and Alfred Gilman, were recruited by the US Department of Defense to investigate potential therapeutic applications of chemical warfare agents. Goodman and Gilman observed that mustard gas was too volatile an agent to be suitable for laboratory experiments. They exchanged a nitrogen molecule for sulfur and had a more stable compound in nitrogen mustard. A year into the start of their research, a German air raid in Bari, Italy led to the exposure of more than 1000 people to the SS John Harvey 's secret cargo composed of mustard gas bombs. Dr. Stewart Francis Alexander, a lieutenant colonel who was an expert in chemical warfare, was subsequently deployed to investigate the aftermath. Autopsies of the victims suggested that profound lymphoid and myeloid suppression had occurred after exposure. In his report, Dr. Alexander theorized that since mustard gas all but ceased the division of certain types of somatic cells whose nature was to divide fast, it could also potentially be put to use in helping to suppress the division of certain types of cancerous cells.
What is the name of the drug that is used to treat spindle poison?
Clockwise from center: bleomycin, an antitumor antibiotic; vincristine, a spindle poison; dacarbazine, an alkylating agent; cyclophosphamide, a nitrogen mustard; doxorubicin, an anthracycline; and etoposide, a topoisomerase inhibitor. The era of cancer chemotherapy began in the 1940s with the first use of nitrogen mustards ...
When did methotrexate cure choriocarcinoma?
Several years later at the National Cancer Institute, Roy Hertz and Min Chiu Li then demonstrated complete remission in women with choriocarcinoma and chorioadenoma in 1956, discovering that methotrexate alone could cure choriocarcinoma (1958) , a germ-cell malignancy that originates in trophoblastic cells of the placenta.
When was the National Cancer Chemotherapy Service Center established?
In response, Congress created a National Cancer Chemotherapy Service Center (NCCSC) at the NCI in 1955 . This was the first federal programme to promote drug discovery for cancer – unlike now, most pharmaceutical companies were not yet interested in developing anticancer drugs.
Dr. Jane C. Wright Biography
Jane Cooke Wright (also known as “Jane Jones” or “Mrs Jane Jones”) (November 20, 1919 – February 19, 2013) was a pioneering cancer researcher and surgeon noted for her contributions to chemotherapy.
What is Chemotherapy?
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen.
Selected publications and Citations
J. C. Wright, J. P. Cobb, S. L. Gumport, F. M. Golomb, and D. Safadi, “Investigation of the Relationship Between Clinical and Tissue Response to Chemotherapeutic Agents on Human Cancer”, New England Journal of Medicine 257 (1957): 1207-1211.
Abstract
The use of chemotherapy to treat cancer began at the start of the 20th century with attempts to narrow the universe of chemicals that might affect the disease by developing methods to screen chemicals using transplantable tumors in rodents.
Introduction
In the early 1900s, the famous German chemist Paul Ehrlich set about developing drugs to treat infectious diseases. He was the one who coined the term “chemotherapy” and defined it as the use of chemicals to treat disease.
The Early Period of Cancer Drug Development
A selected history and timeline of events related to the development of cancer chemotherapy is shown in Fig. 1. The first four decades of the 20th century were primarily devoted to model development.
World War II and the Immediate Post-War Period
Although gases were not used on the battlefield in World War II (WWII), a great deal of research was done on vesicant war gases ( 5, 8 ).
The 1950s
The 1950s were a period of undue pessimism due to the disappointment over the failed promise of nitrogen mustard to produce durable remissions. This negative view was somewhat offset by the discovery of corticosteroids, which were to be used in cancer patients but were also quickly found to produce only brief responses when used alone ( 31, 32 ).
The 1970s: The Age of Adjuvant Chemotherapy
The concept of cure had a remarkably permissive effect on the use of chemotherapy in earlier stages of cancers. For example, about 90% of patients with breast cancer present with locoregional disease. Yet, the majority will develop recurrences if only the best locoregional treatment is used.
Passage of the Cancer Act of 1971 and Beyond
One unanticipated benefit of the report of the curability of choriocarcinoma, lymphomas, and acute leukemias with combination chemotherapy was the passage of the National Cancer Act in 1971.
Overview
History
The first use of small-molecule drugs to treat cancer was in the early 20th century, although the specific chemicals first used were not originally intended for that purpose. Mustard gas was used as a chemical warfare agent during World War I and was discovered to be a potent suppressor of hematopoiesis (blood production). A similar family of compounds known as nitrogen mustardswere …
Treatment strategies
There are a number of strategies in the administration of chemotherapeutic drugs used today. Chemotherapy may be given with a curative intent or it may aim to prolong life or to palliate symptoms.
• Induction chemotherapy is the first line treatment of cancer with a chemotherapeutic drug. This type of chemotherapy is used for curative intent.
Adverse effects
Chemotherapeutic techniques have a range of side effects that depend on the type of medications used. The most common medications affect mainly the fast-dividing cells of the body, such as blood cells and the cells lining the mouth, stomach, and intestines. Chemotherapy-related toxicities can occur acutely after administration, within hours or days, or chronically, from weeks to years.
Limitations
Chemotherapy does not always work, and even when it is useful, it may not completely destroy the cancer. People frequently fail to understand its limitations. In one study of people who had been newly diagnosed with incurable, stage 4 cancer, more than two-thirds of people with lung cancer and more than four-fifths of people with colorectal cancer still believed that chemotherapy was likely to cure their cancer.
Resistance
Resistance is a major cause of treatment failure in chemotherapeutic drugs. There are a few possible causes of resistance in cancer, one of which is the presence of small pumps on the surface of cancer cells that actively move chemotherapy from inside the cell to the outside. Cancer cells produce high amounts of these pumps, known as p-glycoprotein, in order to protect themselves from chemotherapeutics. Research on p-glycoproteinand other such chemotherapy …
Cytotoxics and targeted therapies
Targeted therapiesare a relatively new class of cancer drugs that can overcome many of the issues seen with the use of cytotoxics. They are divided into two groups: small molecule and antibodies. The massive toxicity seen with the use of cytotoxics is due to the lack of cell specificity of the drugs. They will kill any rapidly dividing cell, tumor or normal. Targeted therapies are designed to affect cellular proteins or processes that are utilised by the cancer cells. This all…
Mechanism of action
Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of cells coupled with malignant behaviour: invasion and metastasis (among other features). It is caused by the interaction between genetic susceptibility and environmental factors. These factors lead to accumulations of genetic mutations in oncogenes (genes that control the growth rate of cells) and tumor suppressor genes(genes that help to prevent cancer), …