Rc72 OP t1_iuhu01l wrote
Reply to comment by JimDixon in TIL that chemotherapy can be traced back to the sinking of an Allied ship secretly carrying chemical weapons in WW2 by Rc72
AFAIK the term “chemotherapy” wasn’t used before cancer chemotherapy, and it was adopted as an analogous construction to “radiotherapy”. Just as in cancer radiotherapy the radiation is targeted to destroy the cancerous cells, in cancer chemotherapy those cells are “chemically targeted” for destruction. The insight that cancerous cells could be more vulnerable than non-cancerous cells to some chemicals was gained in the aftermath of the Bari disaster, by the military surgeon reporting the effects of mustard gas on the sailors.
bdesign7 t1_iuhxjwz wrote
JimDixon t1_iui7m1k wrote
I found these items unrelated to cancer:
“Progress in Chemotherapy and the Treatment of Syphilis,” journal title, 1924.
“Chemotherapy of a New Group of Arsenical Compounds…,” master’s thesis, 1924.
“Experimental Chemotherapy in Malaria,” article, 1941.
“Ineffective Penicillin Chemotherapy of Arthritic Rats….,” article, 1943.
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