NITROGEN MUSTARD THERAPY

Abstract

The work of three groups of investigators on the therapeutic effects of the nitrogen mustards was recently summarized.¹The first clinical application of these compounds was initiated by Gilman, Goodman and others,²who administered<i>tris</i>(β-chloroethyl) amine hydrochloride intravenously to a group of 6 patients in the terminal stages of a variety of neoplastic diseases. They observed a striking effect on hemopoietic tissue including the regression of lymphadenopathy in a case of lymphosarcoma. Independently in Chicago we initiated a clinical investigation of another nitrogen mustard, methyl-<i>bis</i>(β-choloroethyl) amine hydrochloride,³on patients with neoplastic diseases of the hemopoietic system on whom prolonged observation as to the therapeutic efficacy of the drug could be made. <h3>MATERIAL AND METHODS</h3> The chemistry of this drug has been discussed in detail elsewhere.⁴When placed in aqueous solution it undergoes a series of transformation, of which the first transformation product, an