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jrignall1992 t1_iufanw5 wrote

Reply to comment by crayfl in TIL that chemotherapy can be traced back to the sinking of an Allied ship secretly carrying chemical weapons in WW2 by Rc72

It can be traced back even further then this, ww1 the use of mustard gas.

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Rc72 OP t1_iuhug2d wrote

Thing is, the insights on mustard gas in WW1 didn’t go much beyond: “Geez, this shit is nasty”, whereas in the aftermath of this WW2 one-off, one military surgeon noted that mustard gas appeared to interfere with the cell-splitting process, and his boss then realised that this could be made useful against cancer…

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PisseArtiste t1_iuivkor wrote

Not really. The link wasn't made until World War II, though nitrogen and sulfur mustard were first used as weapons during the First World War.

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jrignall1992 t1_iuix5hf wrote

Well yea kind of because it was what happened in WW1 that lead to this discovery.

They was studying a potential antidote just in case it was used in WW2.

First use of it being used medicinally was August 1942

With the actual component being found in 1948.

No matter how little of a connection you think it is the use of mustard gas in WW1 is what led them to the studies.

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PisseArtiste t1_iuixz58 wrote

I guess in the sense that there was some notice of the impact on bone marrow during World War I but it wasn't until the work of Gilman et al during the Second World War that there was progress.

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jrignall1992 t1_iuiy6aw wrote

Yea that is correct, the reason why I framed it like such is based on how OP has worded title if they put that chemos first use was ww2 then yea but do you get what I mean haha.

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darhox t1_iugb3r5 wrote

Mustard gas is therapeutic?

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CeeCeeAndDee t1_iuhlh4m wrote

You make my head hurt. The answer is literally a click away, and you choose to be ignorant.

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Rc72 OP t1_iuhpwsn wrote

Not exactly therapeutic: it’s toxic, but as a WW2 military surgeon found out, it turns out to be even more toxic for cancer cells than for regular cells…

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PisseArtiste t1_iuivdv2 wrote

The first chemotherapy drugs, some of which are still in use, are alkylating agents, and they're basically chemically similar and derived from mustard gas (which isn't a gas, incidentally).

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