According to the "Compendium of Materia Medica," Chinese medicine arsenic is highly toxic. The risk of toxicity of arsenic is well known to the public and it is listed as one of 36 toxic Chinese medicines under strict management in China. However, it is this awkward and awkward arsenic that scientists have used as materials to develop drugs for the treatment of blood cancer, which has become the focus of attention of the world.
According to reports, after 10 years of hard work, the Medical School of the University of Hong Kong and the Queen Mary Hospital successfully developed arsenic as an oral arsenic medicine for the treatment of leukemia. The patient can take the medicine home to drink by himself, usually taking two teaspoons a day. Each session is two years.
"Apricot" treatment with poison attack
In fact, as early as in ancient China, there were records of the use of arsenic drugs such as arsenic to treat poisonous diseases, including the treatment of malignant diseases including tumors. In 1972, Harbin Medical University took the lead in discovering the efficacy of arsenic trioxide, arsenic trioxide, the main component of arsenic, in acute promyelocytic leukemia. In the mid-1990s, Wang Zhenyi, Chen Wei, Chen Saijuan, Chen Guoqiang, and other scientists from Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Second Medical University, conducted in-depth studies on the mechanism and found that arsenious acid injection can induce and differentiate acute promyelocytes and promote tumors. Apoptosis causes it to move toward the path of programmed death "suicide" and publishes a series of papers in the international authoritative "blood" magazine. This discovery was considered "a revolution in international hematology."
Usually leukemia is divided into acute and chronic two categories, of which acute promyelocytic leukemia, also known as M3 type, is considered by the oncologist as the most dangerous one, although clinically available for the treatment of retinoids, the complete remission rate is also quite However, it is a pity that it has a high recurrence rate. Once tumor cells develop resistance to retinoic acid, they are prone to recurrence, which brings great difficulties to the treatment of patients.
In the department of internal medicine of the Hong Kong Queen’s Hospital, Hong Kong’s Department of Internal Medicine, Department of Hematology and Oncology, the Hong Kong Medical School’s Department of Medicine, participated in the research and development of new drugs. He used oral arsenic to treat diseases as early as the early 1950’s. But with the advent of new drugs, arsenic has slowly been replaced and forgotten for nearly half a century.
Until 1998, Harbin and Shanghai successively appeared successful cases of using intravenous arsenic trioxide for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. Since 1998, the research team has re-examined the use of oral arsenic in the treatment of leukemia. "In fact, arsenic has always been recognized as the best drug for the treatment of relapse of promyelocytic leukemia in the world, but intravenous injection has been used in the past, and oral arsenic has become a gap in medical research."
Due to the historical experience of using arsenic in Hong Kong, the researchers conducted a search of patient data stored at the Hong Kong Medical Museum to determine the amount and safety of oral arsenic. After two years of experimentation, the research team successfully developed a safe oral arsenic agent in 2000 and applied it to the treatment of clinical leukemia.
Oral arsenic is expected to replace injections
At present, for the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia, the traditional therapy is to first inject arsenic, and then perform bone marrow transplantation, in order to cure the disease, but expensive, bone marrow transplantation requires matching, it is time-consuming and laborious.
"Compared with intravenous injection, patients with oral arsenic do not need to be hospitalized, the dosage is easy to adjust, the toxicity is mild, they can be used for many years, and the price is low, which can save medical expenses in a large amount." According to Wolin, the research team found that oral arsenic Agents are very safe drugs. If the dose is appropriate, the potential toxicity of arsenic will be relieved, especially the side effects on the heart can be greatly reduced.
Wo Wolin said: "We used oral arsenic for treatment of 56 patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia relapse. Among them, 98% were cured. Because of long-term use, the 5-year survival rate of patients is 70%, which is more effective than chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation. "According to statistics, at present, there are more than 100 leukemia patients in Hong Kong have received this treatment and achieved very good results.
"When treated with this oral arsenic, the dose given to the patient is about 200 milliliters, which is a two-week dose that will not cause poisoning." The researchers said, "Adults need to drink 1 liter at a time before they get poisoned."
According to Miss Chung of the Hong Kong University School of Medicine's External Liaison Group, the concept of oral arsenic as a treatment for leukemia has just been proposed and is still in clinical use. At the same time, they also hope that oral arsenic will be able to replace the intravenous injection of arsenic, a new treatment for cancer worldwide.
In response to the news of “Arime Cream†in the treatment of leukemia, Prof. Zhu Jun, a dean of the Peking University School of Oncology and Beijing Cancer Hospital, and an officer in charge of the Department of Lymphatics, emphasized: “Ail Cream†is inaccurate in treating leukemia. Accurate Yes, arsenic compounds in mineral medicines can treat leukemia. This concept must be clarified."
Individuals must not privately purchase arsenic
In fact, arsenious acid injection made with arsenic was approved as a second class of new drugs in the Mainland in the second half of 1999. In late September 2000, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration formally approved the use of arsenic in the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia.
Zhu Jun said that arsenite injection has been used for the treatment of leukemia for more than 10 years. Although it has a cure rate of 70%-80%, it has side effects such as hepatic, renal and cardiac toxicity. Most countries, including China, rarely For first-line treatment, it is currently only used in the second line. "Arsenic is currently used mainly for acute promyelocytic leukemia. In addition, it is also used in other types of leukemia and some solid tumors that are resistant to chemotherapy." Zhu Jun, director of the view.
In recent years, with the deepening of research on arsenic, arsenic is no longer limited to the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia, and it is also playing a role in the treatment of solid tumors such as liver, lung, pancreas, stomach, bone, and lymph. More and more active role.
Zhu Jun said that he is not familiar with oral arsenic therapy developed in Hong Kong, but if it can really reduce the toxicity of arsenic, there is a breakthrough in safety, and patients can have more treatment options. But he also reminded: "The oral arsenic is refined, and people must not purchase arsenic privately to treat cancer. If it is really needed, it must be used under the guidance of a doctor." (Reporter Li Ying)
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