Episode 1 of the documentary Emperor of all Maladies titled
Magic Bullets
The Emperor of all Maladies: Episode 1: Magic Bullets
10. What cancer treatment had its origin in World War I and World War III? What cancer was treated using this compound, and how did it work against the cancer?
Answer: - During world war I, some navy personnel who were exposed to the mustard gas. Mustard gas was found to be toxic to the bone marrow, mustard gas can be absorbed through the skin and thus gas masks were useless. At the same time, US Army was also working on developing some chemicals related to mustard gas that can be more effective in their poisonous nature. During the course of this work, a chemical known as nitrogen mustard was studied and found to work against a cancer of the lymph nodes called lymphoma. This compound also known as alkylating agent killed the rapidly dividing cancer cells by damaging their DNA.
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