A History of Leukemia

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While the modern era of leukemia chemotherapy began recently, the

origins of leukemia treatment have been recorded in ancient documents.

Regarding therapy, virtually nothing could be done for leukemic

patients up to the period just after the Second World War. The

nitrogen mustards had been introduced as a by-product of the horrors of

the First World War but, although they had some effects in the course

of lymphomas, they were not effective at all for the management of

leukemia. However, in the 1940s, an increasing understanding of the

mechanisms of action of certain agents required for blood production

led to the development of the first anti-folate drugs, notably

aminopterin. This opened an era for the management of leukemia. Works

on purine and pyrimidine metabolism led to another important

therapeutic agent, 6-mercaptopurine, the first drug to have any effect

on adult leukemia. Further developments followed rapidly, notably the

discovery of the effect of the corticosteriods, and then the appearance

of different classes of drugs, notably derivatives of antibiotics,

particularly danunorubicin and vincristine alkaloids.

Read the rest at:

http://www.mednet.gr/eae/haema/pdf/92-01.pdf