A gathering of more than a thousand medical researchers in Sydney, Australia ,  has been told that arsenic and Thalidomide — banned in the 1960s after being linked to gross birth abnormalities — held hope as a basis for new treatments, extending the lives of patients with an so-far incurable bone marrow cancer, multiple myeloma . The two treatments had advantages over existing chemotherapy treatments, including lessened side-effects, and reducing the need for chemo- and radiotherapy. They may also be usable to treat other illnesses. Both were still under test. "The development of arsenic dates back many years when it was used for lowering the blood counts in patients, even at the turn of the century," Professor Miles Prince, of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, told Australian Associated Press for the 10th International Myeloma Workshop. "It was originally thought to work because [Thalidomide] blocks the blood vessel growth in tumours , and that is still true, but the research that we've done has shown that one of its major causes of action is to stimulate [ immune system ] T-cells which are directly against the tumour, and these T-cells help patients with myeloma fight their disease," Professor Douglas Joshua, head of Haemotology at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, told Australian radio.
A gathering of more than a thousand medical researchers in , , has been told that and — banned in the 1960s after being linked to gross birth abnormalities — held hope as a basis for new treatments, extending the lives of patients with an so-far incurable bone marrow cancer, . The two treatments had advantages over existing treatments, including lessened side-effects, and reducing the need for chemo- and radiotherapy. They may also be usable to treat other illnesses. Both were still under test. "The development of arsenic dates back many years when it was used for lowering the in patients, even at the turn of the century," Professor Miles Prince, of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, told for the 10th International Myeloma Workshop. "It was originally thought to work because [Thalidomide] blocks the blood vessel growth in , and that is still true, but the research that we've done has shown that one of its major causes of action is to stimulate [ ] which are directly against the tumour, and these T-cells help patients with myeloma fight their disease," Professor Douglas Joshua, head of at in Sydney, told Australian radio.
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Sydney, Australia
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,
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arsenic and Thalidomide
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multiple myeloma
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chemotherapy
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blood counts
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Australian Associated Press
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tumours
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immune system
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T-cells
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Haemotology at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
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