A poisonous substance used as weed killer and notorious as a weapon for murder mystery writers may be used to treat leukaemia, researchers believe. The Iranian team said arsenic trioxide could be used as first-line treatment for acute promyeloctytic leukaemia. They found that after two courses of treatment more than 90% of the 63 patients were in complete remission. But UK experts said traditional chemotherapy was still likely to be used in western countries. Arsenic trioxide is already used on patients as second-line of treatment for the leukaemia, which affects 20,000 people across the world each year. But initial treatment involves chemotherapy plus Atra, a vitamin A-based substance. It has a five-year survival rate between 60% and 80%. The arsenic trioxide research by scientists at Tehran University of Medical Sciences reported 88.5% of patients were still alive after 34 months.
