ABSTRACT
People have taken all sorts of metal compounds in the past, like iron compounds to treat anemia or gold compounds in the treatment of arthritis. Cisplatin caused remission, the trans-isomer did not, as was reported in 1969. By 1971, the first tests on humans were taking place in the United Kingdom. Hundreds of thousands of people have been successfully treated with cisplatin or with its successors carboplatin and oxaliplatin, used in the treatment of colorectal cancer. The DNA in the cancer cell is the main target of the cisplatin. It was found to be especially effective against patients with testicular cancer, and despite problems with kidney toxicity, as well as nausea and vomiting, this was controlled with the use of other drugs, as well as hydration therapy to counter the kidney problem. The most famous person to be treated with cisplatin is the American cyclist Lance Armstrong, who in October 1996 was diagnosed with stage-3 testicular cancer.
