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Cancer
chemotherapy is understood to mean medications or drugs that destroy
cancer cells. Most lay people, however, think of anti-cancer drugs when they hear the term
"chemotherapy." Two of the medical terms often used to describe cancer
chemotherapy are antineoplastic (anti-cancer) and cytotoxic (cell-killing). The
first drug used for cancer chemotherapy was not originally intended for that purpose.
Mustard gas was used as a chemical warfare agent during World War I and was studied
further during World War II. During a military operation in World War II, a large number
of military personnel was accidentally exposed to that agent and were later found to have
abnormally low white blood counts. It was reasoned that an agent that damaged the rapidly growing white blood cells might have a similar effect on cancer. Therefore, in the 1940's several patients with advanced lymphomas were given the drug (by vein, rather than by breathing the irritating gas). Their improvement, although temporary, was remarkable. That experience provided the impetus for the study of other substances that might have similar effects against cancer - as a result, many additional drugs have been developed to treat many other types of cancer. |
