Although cancer may be a frightening diagnosis, many different types of drugs are available to fight the disease. These drugs that kill cancer cells are collectively known as chemotherapy drugs. Each kills cancer cells in a different way. One chemotherapy drug doctors have used for decades is nitrogen mustard.
History
Nitrogen mustard was the first drug used for cancer chemotherapy. The compound was first used as mustard gas, a poison gas used during World War I to injure and kill soldiers. Later, researchers in the United States military noted that exposure to mustard gas caused bone marrow cells to die. These scientists speculated from this observation that the compound might also damage or kill cancer cells. Researchers at the University of Chicago who first used nitrogen mustard in the 1940s to treat some cancers of the blood and bone marrow found that the compound killed tumor cells and relieved cancer patients' symptoms.
How It Works
The chemotherapy drug mechlorethamine, sold under the brand name Mustargen, is nitrogen mustard. This drug belongs to a class of chemotherapy drugs called alkylating agents. These drugs work by damaging the DNA in the cancer cells. They prevent the DNA molecule from opening up, which is the first step in cell division. The cancer cells are unable to replicate and they die.
How It's Used
Doctors administer nitrogen mustard through an intravenous line. They most commonly use it in combination with other chemotherapy drugs to treat lymphomas, cancers of the white blood cells within the lymph nodes. Doctors may also use it to treat patients with advanced lung and breast cancers to relieve some of the symptoms of the cancer, even if the cancer can't be cured.
Side Effects
Unfortunately, nitrogen mustard doesn't only kill cancer cells -- any type of cell that grows and divides often, like bone marrow cells, can also be damaged and die. Nitrogen mustard can reduce the number of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets in the blood. Deficiency of these cells can lead to anemia, an increased risk of infection and bleeding problems. It may also cause nausea and vomiting, mouth sores and hair loss.
References
- American Cancer Society: What Is Chemotherapy?
- First World War.com: Weapons of War: Poison Gas
- "Time"; Medicine: Mustard Against Cancer; October 1946
- American Cancer Society: What Are the Different Types of Chemotherapy Drugs?
- CancerQuest: Genotoxic Drugs
- Chemocare.com: Chemotherapy Drugs: Nitrogen Mustard
