The cis-PtCl2(NH3)2 compound was first documented by M. Peyrone
in 1845, and it was originally referred to as Peyrone's salt. Later,
in the 1960s, scientists at Michigan State University found that
platinum electrodes undergoing electrolysis produce cisplatin. It
was first found to inhibit E. coli bacteria's ability to reproduce
by preventing binary fission. Its first use in cancer treatment
was for sarcomas that were artificially implanted into rats. They
found that the drug was effective in treating sarcomas and proceeded
to do clinical trials on humans. Cisplatin was approved by the Food
and Drug Administration in 1978 for a variety of cancers and is
being used to this day for treatment.
Cisplatin is used in conjunction with other drugs for maximum
effect in what is called combination therapies. One of these combinations
is with vinorelbine and ifosfamide to treat advanced non-small-cell
lung cancer. To provide the best care for the patient, investigative
drugs like Alimta are sometimes used with cisplatin since the
effect may be measured against known data to see if the investigative
drug improves the patient's condition. Therefore, the patient
does not have to quit an effective treatment to test another drug's
effectiveness and possibly regress. Another combination, used
for locally advanced cervical carcinoma, is gemcitabine and cisplatin.
A recent
meta-analysis found that cisplatin was effective in improving
survival for patients who had lung cancer surgery. Researchers
said their findings "confirms that adjuvant cisplatin-based
chemotherapy is of benefit in completely resected NSCLC".
Thus an old chemotherapy drug proves its worth, even in the face
of fancy new drugs that are on patent.
Cisplatin treatment
for cancer.
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Cisplatin
How it Works