A doctor treating leprosy patients used old supplies to give pain relief to people with skin lesions. The lesions cleared up overnight. It was found that the drug could regulate the immune system. In 1992, a Boston researcher hit on thalidomide as a possible treatment for cancer. He was searching a database for drugs which stop blood vessels from growing.
Many cancer depend on the growth of blood vessels to transport the disease.
After his discovery, US scientists began clinical trials to test the drug's effect on different cancers, including advanced brain tumours. It has been found that thalidomide shuts down the blood supply to tumours. It has been used on 80 patients over the last 15 months. In some cases, the tumour has disappeared altogether. The trials and the illegal use of the drug to treat the worst effects of Aids brought pressure on the US authorities to license the drug.