1878

First report of effectiveness of arsenic in treatment of a patient with leukemia (“leucocythemia”) out of Boston City Hospital. A2O3 subsequently used as primary antileukemic agent until advent of radiation therapy. It had a resurgence in 1930s when its efficacy was repeated in patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Until supplanted by modern chemotherapy, arsenic trioxide after radiation was considered “the most effective treatment for C<ML and other types of leukemia.” In 2000, arsenic trioxide (Trisenox) was approved by FDA for treatment of relapsed or refractory APL (Antman).