Chemotherapy Technology Development Report

Aleque Cronquist
12/07/2016
Writing 1010

Chemotherapy Technology Development Report

Abstract:
This report contains the history and development of
chemotherapy. In the process of learning more about chemotherapy I
also included a survey on whether or not people think chemotherapy is
effective. I learned that very large amounts of people arent fully aware
of what chemotherapy is and how it accomplishes the purpose that it
was invented for. But the people who were well aware of the
importance of chemotherapy and also the damage of the medication
were very helpful in coming up with results of 8/10 people thinking that
chemotherapy is positively effective. As I went online to find out more
information, I found that there are many people on both sides of the
spectrum. Once I looked at more statistics, I found that chemotherapy
does as much good that it does harm. Although chemotherapy does
help few cases, for the most part there are alternative ways that are
less detrimental to the human body.
Introduction:
Over a million people were diagnosed with cancer in the year of
2016one of those people being my dads best friend, Mike. Colon
cancer was the diagnosis and chemotherapy was the treatment the
doctors chose. He went through about six months of chemotherapy
before the doctors let him know that it wasnt working. Since there was
no luck with chemotherapy they decided to go in and do surgery to
make sure nothing had spread too far to save. They found that he was

Chemotherapy Technology Development Report

going to be okay and he is just going to have to be monitored for the
next 6 months or so.
Studies show that chemotherapy is only 2.1% effective toward a
five-year survival (Wark, 2011). This shows that chemotherapy isnt
quite as effective as it is said to be. This also depends on the cancer
you might have. Chemo works better on some rather than others.
Background:
Chemotherapy works by using cytoxic drugs to slow down the
process of rapidly dividing cells. The way this works is the cells have to
go through the cell cycle, the drugs used in chemo will go in and
interrupt the cell cycle in order to slow down the cells reproduction.
Most types of chemo are used for different kinds of cancer so thats
why they also use a combination of separate kinds of chemo to work
together to slow down the cell division.
History:
Chemotherapy was not originally used for cancer. In the early
20th century, during World War II, mustard gas was discovered to
reduce the white blood cell count. Leading researchers to question
whether or not this would help with slowing down rapidly growing cells,
like cancer cells. Alfred Gilman and Louis Goodman decided to test this
out in the 1940s. They began to experiment with the cancer
lymphoma. Lymphoma is what occurs in the infection-fighting part of
the immune system causing the lymphocytes to change and grow out

Chemotherapy Technology Development Report

of control (WebMD, 2015). They first took mice and injected them with
lymphomas; they then discovered that the tumors could be treated
with mustard agents. Since they had a better understanding of the
drug, they got a thoracic surgeon, Gustav Linskog, and injected a less
evaporative form of mustard gas called mustine, which is nitrogen
mustard, into a patient with nonHodgkins lymphoma (Mandal, 2014).
The treatment seemed to be shrinking the tumors significantly and the
patient kept coming back for more. The official results were published
in 1946.
Another treatment found by Sidney Farber and other colleagues
after World War II was the anti-cancer effects of folic acid, an essential
vitamin in DNA metabolism. Discovered in 1948, children with acute
lymphoblastic leukemia, it was the first to lead to remission and had
the potential to restore bone marrow (Mandal, 2014). There were also
studies found by Eli Lily that plant alkaloids taken from Vinca rosea
were beneficial to leukemia patients (Mandal, 2014).
Timeline:
As said previously, Chemotherapy was discovered around 1943
during World War II. It began to be used for Hodgkin Lymphoma during
1949 and the side effects were so severe that the patients were forced
to be monitored while also under hospitalization. In the year of 1958
combination chemotherapy was discovered, which is when multiple
drugs are used to treat, and this caused a cure for leukemia. In the

Chemotherapy Technology Development Report

1960s Vincent DeVita came up with a regimen of chemotherapy called
MOPP, made of mechlorethamine, vincristine, procarbazine, and
prednisone. This was found to cure around 70% of patients with
advance Hodgkin lymphoma. Throughout the years there have been
hundreds of discoveries in all of the types of cancers that have caused
breakthroughs in survival rates. There was a Korean trial that was done
that shows that post-surgical chemotherapy with Xeloda and Eloxatin
and following D2 surgery allowed three-quarters of patients to remain
cancer free for three years compared to the 60 percent of patients with
only receiving surgery (American Cancer Society, 2016).
Primary Research:
In a survey I created, I asked 10 people what their opinions were
on the effectiveness of chemotherapy. Eight people out of ten stated
that they guessed that it worked but they didnt have a great enough
knowledge to know for a surety that it was 100% effective. One answer
that stood out was my sister-in-law who is a nurse and has the
experience to give an educated answer. She stated, I think its
effective for those who are pretty healthy before diagnosed with
cancer. I think it also works better if the cancer stage isnt high or if it
hasnt spread. If people dont fit into these categories then its just a
last ditch effort. It does more harm than good for people who are
already sick from the cancer. This statement isnt false. The amount of
people who are terminal have the option to try chemo in order to have

Chemotherapy Technology Development Report

a chance to live, but the chances are very slim. There is either the
option of dying while experiencing the side effects of chemotherapy, or
peacefully going while not having to deal with the periodic nausea and
other things.
Side effects of chemotherapy include, mouth and throat sores,
diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, constipation, and blood disorders.
These things may seem very graphic but it is the reality of the drug
and all of its effects. There are some people who make it through and
beat the cancer with chemotherapy. But again, the chances of living
are very slim. Although, a quote stated by Jessica Wapner, Self
deception is a valuable personal coping tool. It allows us to aspire to
significance, strive for new knowledge, and yearn to make a lasting
contribution to the world despite the certainty of our inevitable end
(Wapner, 2012). Within the grieving process there are five stages, one
of those stages being denial. People dont want to believe that it is
their time to go, so when they know there is a treatment for their
sickness, they are going to do everything in their power to prevent the
inevitable.
Biggest Advance in Chemotherapy:
In the 1970s, 90% of men with advanced testicular cancer didnt
survive. These days, more than 90% are cured (Nasser, 2014). Dr.
Lawrence Einhorn and his colleagues came up with the drug BVP
(standing for cisplatin, vinblastine, and bleomycin). This began to make

Chemotherapy Technology Development Report

a huge difference on men with aggressive testicular cancer. It saved
every three in four men with this kind of cancer. Before the treatment
was created, the previous treatment was only 5% effective.
Another regimen, PVB, was created in 1984 where the recent was
replaced by bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin. These regimens
created a 64% increase in survival rates for men with aggressive
testicular cancer. There were even more advances throughout the
years including preserving sexual function and refined radiation
techniques. These achievements are still some of the best in oncology
history.
The Future:
The future of this drug is going to evolve and become less and
less harmful to patients who are not terminal. It has been very helpful
to many people and it will keep saving lives throughout the next years
until there is finally a real cure for cancer. Research says that chemo
will continue evolving and doctors will keep making new discoveries
with fewer side effects and more lives saved. Hopefully one day an
actual cure will be found (Human Touch of Chemistry).
Conclude:
Chemotherapy is a very controversial topic. There are many
people who disagree with the drug because of its very graphic side
effect, but there are also people who believe those side effects are
worth it if it means they get to live another day. As stated before,

Chemotherapy Technology Development Report

studies show that chemotherapy is only 2.1% effective toward a fiveyear survival (Wark, 2011). Having cancer isnt something that anyone
wants to go through. But some people like to think positively and if five
years seems like more than enough for them then thats their own way
of looking at life. Whether or not a person agrees or disagrees with
chemotherapy isnt a matter of who is right or who is wrong, it is a
matter of a persons own opinion and the way they want to live their
life.
Chemotherapy has already had such a big impact on society.
Before chemotherapy cancer was something that wasnt treatable.
Chemo has changed lives and has given people hope for survival and
still living a full life. There is going to be many more discoveries and
fewer side effects within the future. Doctors and scientists have also
been working to cure cancer for years. Cancer isnt just one disease,
but multiple. It gets into every system in the human body and can
grow indefinitely if not treated. There are many cancers, which means
that there will have to be many types of cures. It will be hard to pin
point the exact treatment for each and every cell that is attacked by
cancer in the body. But with the amount of treatments that have
already been found and all of the great things doctors have achieved
already, there is not a doubt in my mind that something will happen
with a cure. Whether it happens with only one type of cancer or all of

Chemotherapy Technology Development Report

them, with all of the hard work that is being put into this research,
there has to be a way to fight this sickness.

References:
[Yale University]. 2010, Dec 3. The Birth of Chemotherapy. [Video File].
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn0pTG9JmJ8.
Selby, K. Chemotherapeutic Medications. [Online Image]. Retrieved
from https://www.asbestos.com/treatment/drugs/ (Links to an external
site.)
Lymphoma Canada. How Chemotherapy Works. [Online Image].
Retrieved from http://www.lymphoma.ca/lymphoma/patientjourney/treatment/general-chemotherapy-treatment (Links to an
external site.).
DeVita. V. T., & Chu E. (2008). A History of Cancer Chemotherapy.
Retrieved
from http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/68/21/8643 (Links to an
external site.).
Gutierrez, D. (2015, November 15). Alternative Media Site Exposes the
Deadly Effects of Chemotherapy. Natural News. Retrieved
from http://www.naturalnews.com/052108_chemotherapy_kills_chemo_
side_effects_alternative_remedies.html.
Gorski, D. (2011). Why Havent We Cured Cancer Yet? Retrieved from
https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/why-havent-we-cured-canceryet/.

Wapner, J. (2012). Why Do People with Advanced Cancer Undergo

Chemotherapy? Retrieved from

Chemotherapy Technology Development Report

http://blogs.plos.org/workinprogress/2012/11/07/why-do-people-withadvanced-cancer-undergo-chemotherapy/.

Cancer.Net. (2015). Side Effects of Chemotherapy. Retrieved from

http://www.cancer.net/navigating-cancer-care/how-cancertreated/chemotherapy/side-effects-chemotherapy.

Park, A. (2015). When Chemotherapy Does More Harm Than Good.

Retrieved from http://time.com/3968918/when-chemotherapy-doesmore-harm-than-good/.

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