Arsenic Treatment for Leukemia | Medical Watch | WGNTV.com | WGN TV

Arsenic Treatment for Leukemia

Friday, April 4

In tonight's Medical Watch -- what a bloody nose may mean for your health and how a dose of arsenic poison may help! Sound scary ... not to a young girl who says it may save her life.

Patty Kania: "I was scared."

It was Christmas day when Patty Kania got a bloody nose that lasted for more than two hours.

Patty Kania, leukemia patient: "My mom was really worried when she called my dad they were extremely worried."

After a trip to the hospital they got no comfort from the diagnosis: acute myeloid luekemia called APML.

Dr. Rishi Lulla, Children's Memorial Hospital, hematology/oncology: "It's a cancer of the blood it's a type of leukemia that primarily affects the bone marrow cells."

The proposed treatment was no less scary ... arsenic!

Dr. Lulla: "We are using arsenic trioxide which is an agent that has been demonstrated both in the lab and in adult patients to help control the leukemic cells."

And the poison is working at controlled doses. But not without potential side effects which include abnormal heart rhythms.

Leonidas Platanias, arsenic researcher, Northwestern's Lurie Cancer Center: "One serious toxicity is cardiac arythmia and that's something for which the patients receiving arsenic have to be monitored closely."

Patty gets a heart check twice a week ... all while doctors check the progress of the arsenic treatment, not just against leukemia but other cancers as well.

Leonidas Platanias, arsenic researcher, Northwestern's Lurie Cancer Center: "The problem is that because its such a powerful poison it can affect normal cells at high doses so if we find a way to sensitize these cancer cells to arsenic this may lead to very strong treatments."

Patty hopes it's making her better now.

Patty: "It's scary but it's fine now."

And she says she's thrilled she may have a hand in helping with research that may make others feel fine too.

Patty: "Happy, proud. Now they can learn what I've gone through and they won't be so frightened about it."

The arsenic treatment for leukemia is approved for adult use but is still considered experimental for children. Patty is currenlty the only patient at Children's Memorial on arsenic.