It was during the 1940’s that chemotherapy was discovered as a treatment for Cancer. It was also during the 1940’s that folic acid antagonist and nitrogen mustards medicines started to be used .Thus we can say that there has been great development  in the history of cancer medicines  since then . Some of the principles as well as limitations that was made by the early researchers of chemotherapy are still being used though there has been great developments in the field of chemotherapy treatment

The time when chemotherapy was first discovered ranges from 1940 – 1950. It was only after the discovery of nitrogen mustard that the modern age of chemotherapy treatment came into being. Nitrogen mustard is an effective agent for treating cancer as well a chemical agent that is used during war. Two pharmacologists namely Alfred Gilman and Lious D. Goodman have been deputed by the Department of Defense of United States to find out whether the chemical agents which were used in war could also be used for therapeutic use. It was observed that the chemical agent could be used to treat lymphoma which is a tumor in the lymphoid cell. It was first experimented on mice. At a later stage they injected mustine into a person who had non-Hodgkin lymphoma. A dramatic reduction could be seen in the mass of the person’s tumor, though this reduction just remained for a few weeks. Thus this was considered as the first step in treating cancer with the use of pharmacological agents.

Another turning point in the history of chemotherapy was the use of antifolates. This is regarded as the second method through which cancer can be treated with the help of medicines. Sidney Faber a pathologist of the Harvard Medical School studies the effect of folic acid which is one type of vitamin that is important for the metabolism of DNA for patients suffering from leukemia. Faber found out that folic acid helped in the stimulation of the lymphoblastic leukemia cells that are acute after doing tests on children. The folate analogues was created by Faber along with Harriett Kilte and the chemists of Lederle laboratories. Faber created two antifolates of which the first one was  aminoprotein and the other was amethopterin. These antifolates when used on children showed that they had the capability of suppressing  the proliferation of the cancer cells.

The discovery of Methotrexate treatment marks as another turning point in the history  of chemotherapy.This treatment was discovered by Min Chui Li and Roy Hertz  who were attached to the National Cancer Institute. Through this treatment choriocarcinoma which is the germ cells getting malignant and occur in the placenta’s trophoblastic cell. Thus this was the first tumor that was cured   by chemotherapy.

The development of anti-metabolites for the treatment of cancer was regarded as another important breakthrough in the history of chemotherapy. The anti-metabolite was developed by Joseph’s Burchenal. He along with two other chemists Gertrude Elion and

George Hitchings after a lot of testing finally discovered 6- mercaptopurine(6-MP). This is regarded as highly effective medicine which acts as an anti leukemia. The National Cancer Chemotherapy Service Centre was created in the year 1955.This was regarded as the first institute where different anti-cancer drugs were discovered.