Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Alkylating Agents and Mustard Gas

As amazing as it sounds Alkylating chemotherapy agents are derivatives of mustard gas! Yep mustard gas. The story of their discovery is really amazing:

During World War II, Rhoads was stationed at the southeastern Italian seaport of Bari. Allied ships were using the port of Bari to make deliveries of supplies and munitions. On the night of December 3, 1943, German bombers raided the harbor and sixteen ships were sunk. Among them was the ship Liberty, that had been carrying explosives as well as a top-secret cargo of 100 tons of mustard gas. The mustard gas, a poisonous gas used as a weapon during World War I, had been loaded into warheads of airplane bombs, ready for use. Later, officials claimed that they were intended only for defensive purposes.For the full story click here

Alkylating agents: Busulfan | Carboplatin | Chlorambucil | Cisplatin | Cyclophosphamide | Ifosfamide | Melphalan | Mechlorethamine | Oxaliplatin | Uramustine

The story here is: Toxin to treat a toxin. Great when you really need it. But the side effects can be serious. One question: What nutrients can increase the effectiveness of a chemotherapeutic agent while decreasing side effects? One example: Vitamin E and Cisplatin. There are others that will help mitigate and prevent long-lasting side-effects, and promote faster recovery. This is why integrative management of cancer is so important.