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Science 328 (5975): 184-185

Copyright © 2010 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Medicine

Poisonous Contacts

Scott C. Kogan

In the 1939 play Arsenic and Old Lace, the main character discovers many secrets about his family, including that his aunts are serial killers who murder lonely old men by serving them elderberry wine poisoned with arsenic. In addition to its use as a lethal poison, arsenic has been used since ancient times to treat human illnesses, including infectious diseases and malignancies (1). The remarkable story of arsenic as a modern medical treatment continues, and on page 240 of this issue (2), Zhang et al. add to our understanding of how its therapeutic effects have made acute promyelocytic leukemia "curable," with survival rates of ~90% (3).

Laboratory Medicine, University of California San Francisco Cancer Center, CA 94143–0100, USA.

E-mail: scott.kogan{at}ucsf.edu

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