SCIENCE: Arsenic Fights Rare Form of Leukemia

Sept. 29, 2004 -- Arsenic, despite its poisonous nature, may help save lives. Mounting evidence suggests that an arsenic treatment is effective for a rare form of leukemia.

At the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer annual meeting -- held this week in Switzerland -- a group of Iranian researchers discussed new clinical trial findings of arsenic trioxide (its chemical name).

Only about 10% of leukemia patients have the rare condition called acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL).

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