Of the 11 patients in the trial who were on the placebo, six had a recurrence of cancer within three-and-a-half years, and three of those six died. Photo / Getty Images
After a new study last week showed that a daily dose of aspirin can double the life expectancy of patients with some cancers, many researchers now believe old-fashioned cheap drugs will provide the next big breakthrough in cancer treatment.
A woman who was suffering from bowel cancer when she took
part in a 2010 trial of a 70p ($1.20) antimalarial pill based on an ancient Chinese herbal remedy has told how she was amazed such a cheap drug could produce such promising results.
Dorothy Bradshaw, 65, took the pills every day for two weeks before surgery to remove a 3.5cm tumour in a small clinical trial at St George's University of London looking at the cancer-fighting potential of the anti-malarial drug artesunate.
After two weeks on the tablets, Bradshaw's tumour had stopped growing and had not spread. Three days later, her colon was successfully removed along with the tumour.
Of the 11 patients in the trial who were on the placebo, six had a recurrence of cancer within three-and-a-half years, and three of those six died. Of the nine patients who took artesunate, one had a recurrence and none died.
