The revolutionary cancer drug Cisplatin and its surprising story

Sometimes viewing a situation from different angles can produce miraculous results. Perhaps one of the best examples is the discovery of cisplatin, a drug enabling revolutionary treatments in many cancers. Let us witness its discovery together.

From basic science to the clinic = From biophysics to cancer science

Cisplatin’s story began with Italian chemist Michele Peyrone. In 1844 he synthesized it in the laboratory, and for many years it was called “Peyrone’s solution.” It was then thought to have no biological activity. In 1965, biophysicist Barnett Rosenberg made the discovery concerning its use in cancer treatment.

Chance favors prepared minds…

Rosenberg was investigating the effects of electric fields on bacterial growth. He noticed that bacteria exposed to an electric field did not multiply and even decreased in size by a factor of 300. When he switched off the current, they resumed normal multiplication. He thought electric current controlled cell proliferation. With colleagues, he spent 2 years trying to understand this relationship. Analysis ultimately revealed that electric current had no effect on cell multiplication. What stopped cell multiplication was not the electric field, but a platinum compound released from the electrodes. He immediately tried to identify it. After extensive research, he named the compound cisplatin .

Dr. Rosenberg thought a compound suppressing cell multiplication might also work in tumors. He created cancer models in mouse cells to examine cisplatin’s anticancer effects. The results were the first signs of a major discovery. Cisplatin effectively attacked mouse tumors and caused them to shrink. After 6 months, the mice remained healthy and tumors had not recurred. Despite its high toxicity, the mice tolerated low doses. Dr. Rosenberg published these results in 1969 in the respected journal Nature. Cancer researchers initially approached them skeptically because heavy metals such as platinum were considered “highly toxic.” Nevertheless, the American National Cancer Institute was impressed and continued supporting the research. Cisplatin’s anticancer effects were also successfully demonstrated in other tumors.

The impressive results led the American National Cancer Institute to support clinical trials. In 1972, the first trials began in advanced (metastatic) testicular cancer. In 1978, the FDA approved it for testicular cancer treatment. Since then, routine use of cisplatin chemotherapy saves nearly 1000 testicular cancer patients annually in the United States. Considering that in 2017, the United States was expected to diagnose 9000 new testicular cancer patients, the value of this figure becomes clear. Cisplatin-related deaths in testicular cancer are almost nonexistent. Following the miraculous testicular cancer results, the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved cisplatin for advanced testicular, ovarian and bladder cancers.

Why is cisplatin so important for cancer treatment?

• Its discovery enabled development of other platinum-based cancer drugs and cisplatin-like agents. New drugs were designed to be less toxic and overcome cancer drug resistance.
• Cisplatin revolutionized testicular cancer in particular. It is still also used in other cancers, including lung, bladder, uterine and ovarian cancers.
• According to the American Cancer Institute’s latest data, 10-20 percent of all cancer patients receive cisplatin at some point in treatment.
• Many cancer research centers worldwide work in coordination with genetics, nanotechnology and other sciences to make cisplatin more sensitive to cancer cells.

Cisplatin is one of the best examples of the magnificent interaction between basic sciences and oncology. Science has many stories of “accidental” discoveries. It must be emphasized that scientific chance favors prepared minds open to research and thought, like Rosenberg’s.

Until another science story of the week, we hope to meet again…