First of all, I'm sorry, the title is to attract attention. Moreover, readers can see that the work introduced in this paper is not suitable for evaluating academicians, so the topic should be criticized. After a week as an informal blog post, the title will be changed back to the title of the following text. At present, this article, as a draft for comments, will also be published in the official journal after appropriate revision, which is contrary to my usual habit of officially publishing it first and then asking the Science Network to put it on my blog.
In the scientific community, I have a dual identity: a practical scientist and a commentator on history and reality. The second identity includes my interest in the history of science. Previously, it mainly introduced the history of science studied by others. In recent years, I have been interested in the modern history of science in China for a long time. Through the cooperation with teacher Zhang Daqing and graduate student Li Runhong of Peking University Medical College, I have obtained some historical materials and am writing articles. How to present the work to be discussed in this paper also benefits from the discussion of colleagues in the award Committee of "GSK Lifelong Life Science Achievement Award". They are Bai Lu, Fu Xinyuan, Ma Hong and Wang Xiaofan.
Recently, something happened to the first identity, which caught my attention unexpectedly. In order to avoid over-interpretation and turn the meaningless part into something more meaningful, I added a title to this article so that outsiders interested in my blog can pay attention to it.
The main purpose of this paper is to hope that China will pay attention to some scientists who have done outstanding work in China but have not been properly recognized. The two characters to be introduced in this article are both older, and one of them is still sick. Their contributions, in my opinion (as the second commentator of Science), deserve the Nobel Prize in Medicine, and their recognition at home and abroad is far below their actual contributions. Neither of them is an academician, and one of them may have never been recommended, which is related to the topic. At the same time, I think that if China's "National Highest Science Award" is considered, its committee should do its homework and at least know the level of this article, instead of shelving it because of controversy.
I hope more people will make their achievements and contributions in all aspects known to the world. If we all strive to win the Nobel Prize in Medicine in their lifetime, that is the significance of the small events caused by my first identity through my second identity.
Rao Yi
The following is the text
Monument to scientific research of traditional Chinese medicine
Can the traditional medicine used in China for thousands of years improve the health of modern people? In China, some people may not think that this is just a problem, but outside China, Chinese medicine has not become the main source of medicine.
For Chinese medicine, there are two opposite extreme ideas. One thinks that Chinese medicine has no effect after modern medicine entered China, and the other thinks that Chinese medicine cannot be judged by modern scientific standards, but has special standards for Chinese medicine.
The discovery of artemisinin and arsenic trioxide clearly proves that Chinese medicine is still beneficial to human beings, and an ancient tradition still has great potential to improve health.
Looking back on their research process, we can see the mistakes of extreme thinking, while rational thinking, which often seems to be the golden mean, is reasonable and the only way to progress. Artemisinin and arsenic trioxide are based on modern scientific methods and follow modern scientific standards. They have stood the test of time and saved the lives of countless children and adults.
Both of these drugs originated from traditional Chinese medicine, and were discovered by two scientists of similar age in the early 1970s. In the large-scale "523 mission" to study antimalarial drugs, Tu Youyou of Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine was the representative figure who discovered artemisinin. Zhang Tingdong of the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University is the main discoverer of the therapeutic effect of arsenic trioxide on leukemia in the process of freely exploring the anticancer effect of traditional Chinese medicine with the mode of individual scientific research group.
Before Tu Youyou and during his tenure in Tu Youyou, Chen worked in Peking Union Medical College for a short time 1920s, during which he made great discoveries in traditional Chinese medicine, especially in the study of ephedrine, which was well-known at home and abroad. Before coming to work in Xiehe, Chen got a good scientific research training by studying in the United States. After working in Concord, he returned to the United States. Chen is internationally renowned in academia and medicine, especially in pharmacology.
China has been closed to the outside world for more than 20 years since 1950s. Tu Youyou, who works in Beijing, and Zhang Tingdong, who works in Harbin, have no comparable training background to Chen. They studied in Beijing Medical College (now Peking University Medical Center) and Harbin Medical University in 1950 respectively, and their working conditions were far from ideal during the critical discovery period. 1the middle and late 1960s and1the early 1970s, China was in the upsurge of the "great proletarian cultural revolution", which was a peculiar stage in the history of China. In China, some people gave full play to their disadvantages in fighting others, and experienced scientists and professors from China Academy of Sciences and universities were criticized. A few years after the bullpen was closed and sidelined, by the early 1970s, many people in universities and scientific research institutions were idle, and even they mainly read newspapers such as People's Daily, which only had four editions every day. Some female scientists also joined the knitting ranks at that time and engaged in scientific research. In this context, some people have made important discoveries, which can be called the two most important drug discoveries in modern China. So far, the record of these discoveries has not been surpassed by the pharmaceutical industry in China today, and the pharmaceutical industry in China has invested a lot of money in drug development.
Affirming and recognizing the work of Tu Youyou and Zhang Tingdong and reviewing their work are not only meaningful to them, but also this paper hopes to inspire others to study more seriously, thus summing up useful experiences and lessons worth learning, and promoting our country to study medicine faster and better and explore nature effectively in the future.
Artemisinin and Tu Youyou
Now many people know the function of artemisinin. It is the fastest-acting antimalarial drug, which can be used in the first line and can also be used in the case of resistance to chloroquine and other commonly used drugs. Of course, artemisinin is not without its shortcomings, nor is it the only drug that can replace all other antimalarial drugs. However, it did treat many patients and sometimes brought them back to life. Artemisinin is completely different from other antimalarial drugs in structure, and it is a brand-new drug. So far, efforts are still being made at home and abroad to find better derivatives to improve the efficacy and reduce drug resistance. In science, the mechanism of artemisinin has not been fully clarified so far, and it is still a research problem.
There are many people who know about the discovery of artemisinin, but there is a big debate. The main question is whether Tu Youyou can be its representative.
The "523 Plan" is a national anti-malaria research plan initiated by President Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai at the request of Viet Nam, taking into account the malaria problem in southern China. Its organization began on1May 23, 967, when people were afraid to find a stable place for the meeting during the Cultural Revolution. The organization's main coordination office is located in the Academy of Military Medical Sciences. Participating units are all over the country, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Yunnan and Shandong. There are at least hundreds of employees. There is no doubt that this is a large-scale cooperative project, in which many people have played a collective role. But is there a representative? Who is the representative?
Tu Youyou, born in 1930, studied pharmacognosy from 195 1 to 1955 in the Department of Pharmacy of Beijing Medical College, and was assigned to work in the Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine. She only has a bachelor's degree, and 1969 was called to participate in the "523 mission".
The "523" project is divided into several parts, making imitations and derivatives of existing western medicines, looking for antimalarial drugs from traditional Chinese medicines and making mosquito repellent. In terms of traditional Chinese medicine, different research groups have tried many traditional Chinese medicines, including Changshan, which have strong efficacy but great side effects. Not only in the ancient books of traditional Chinese medicine, but also in China in the 1950s and 1960s. Yu Yagang, a research group from Tu Youyou, Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, sorted out 808 possible antimalarial Chinese medicines, including Aconitum, Mume, Carapax Trionycis and Artemisia annua. The Academy of Military Medical Sciences screened nearly 100 prescriptions with mouse malaria model, and the extract of Artemisia annua L. had 60%~80% inhibition rate, but it was unstable. Tu Youyou provided the selected list of traditional Chinese medicines (mineral medicines: Huang Dan, realgar, sulfur, soapstone, cinnabar, etc.) to the research group. ); Veterinary drugs: rodenticide, earthworm, snake slough, pangolin, phoenix coat, etc. Plant medicine: Cortex Lycii, Radix Glycyrrhizae, Flos Chrysanthemi, Radix et Rhizoma Rhei, Fructus Bruceae, Herba Artemisiae Annuae, Verbena, etc. Tu Youyou's research group also observed the effect of Artemisia annua, but the decoction was ineffective, and the titer of 95% ethanol extract was only 30-40%. In 197 1, one of the key roles of Tu Youyou himself was to propose extracting Artemisia annua with ether, and the antimalarial effect of the extract reached 95- 100%, which immediately led to the discovery of high efficiency of Artemisia annua. 1in March, 972, Tu Youyou reported this result at the meeting of Nanjing 523 regiment, which attracted everyone's attention, but it did not become the only focus. At the end of the meeting, the organizer suggested that "the chemical structure of talons should be determined as soon as possible and the research on synthesis should continue;" On the basis of further affirming the clinical function of effective monomer, the chemical structure was clarified. Key drugs such as Artemisia annua and Ailanthus altissima accelerate the separation and extraction of effective chemical components or monomers while affirming the clinical efficacy. "
Tu Youyou's research group later concentrated on Artemisia annua. Ni Muyun first tried to obtain the active compounds in Artemisia annua, and then Zhong Yurong successfully obtained artemisinin crystals, and they obtained the molecular formula. Artemisinin is carried by the members of Tu Youyou research group, and other research groups (such as Shanghai Institute of Organic Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biophysics, etc.). ) mainly analyzed the molecule and structure of artemisinin. Knowing the results of Tu Youyou's group in 1972, Shandong Institute of Parasitology cooperated with Shandong Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Yunnan Institute of Medicine to extract Artemisia annua respectively. Shandong Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Yunnan Institute of Medicine independently obtained effective antimalarial monomers, which were named Artemisia annua (Shandong) and Artemisia annua (Yunnan) respectively. From 65438 to 0974, Artemisia annua and Artemisia annua were considered as artemisinin in Beijing.
Although there are many controversies about the history of artemisinin, there is no doubt that: 1) Tu Youyou proposed extracting with ether, which is very important for discovering the function of Artemisia annua and further studying Artemisia annua; 2) Zhong Yurong, who obtained artemisinin through specific separation and purification, is undoubtedly a member of the research group of Tu Youyou; 3) Other teams that extracted artemisinin learned at a public meeting that Tu Youyou team found Artemisia annua.
There are many historical summaries about artemisinin, but this article is limited to one question: Tu Youyou did play a key role in the discovery of artemisinin. Other research groups and scientists did play a very important role. Tu Youyou's work has the foundation of predecessors, and members of her research group have also played a very important role. Affirming her role does not obscure the role of others. There should be more detailed historical records to let people know the contributions of the organizers and main participants of the "523 Task".
Arsenic and Zhang Tingdong
The chemical composition of arsenic is arsenous acid (arsenic trioxide).
The tradition of treating diseases with arsenic is also used in the west. Arsenic-containing Chinese medicines include arsenic, arsenic, realgar and orpiment. The medicinal properties of arsenic were recorded in Kaibao Detailed Materia Medica in Northern Song Dynasty and Compendium of Materia Medica by Li Shizhen. In the 1930s, arsenic acid was also used to treat leukemia in the west/KLOC-0, but it was not universally recognized and popularized.
197 1 In March, Han Taiyun, a pharmacist from the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical College, learned from the folk Chinese medicine department that arsenic, calomel (mercurous chloride) and toad were used to treat lymph node tuberculosis and cancer, and Han Taiyun changed it into a water needle, which was called \"7 13\ "or \" Ai ".
Zhang Tingdong from the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University continued this work. Zhang Tingdong 1950 graduated from Harbin Medical University, and participated in the training course of Chinese and Western medicine in 1960s.
After 1972, on the one hand, Zhang Tingdong and others began to focus on leukemia instead of doing too many diseases. On the other hand, they tested the components separately and found that arsenic is effective as long as it is available, while calomel brings nephrotoxicity, and toad venom brings side effects of raising blood pressure. The latter two are useless for treatment.
1973, Zhang Tingdong, Zhang Pengfei, Wang Shouren and Han Taiyun published a paper in Heilongjiang Medicine, reporting that 6 leukemia patients were treated with "Ailing Injection" (later called "Ailing 1"). They made it clear that the chemical composition of arsenic is mainly arsenous acid (arsenic trioxide) and a small amount of mercury chloride. Results 6 cases of chronic myeloid leukemia improved, and 1 case of acute change was also effective. They mentioned that they are still studying the effect on acute leukemia.
1974, they published "Aileen 1 Injection and Treatment Based on Differentiation of Symptoms and Signs1Observation on the Curative Effect of 7 Cases of Leukemia" signed by the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Laboratory of the First Hospital of Harbin Medical University in Journal of Harbin Medical University. Summarizing their treatment of different types of leukemia from June 1973 to April 1974, it is found that "Ailing 1" is effective for many kinds of leukemia, but it can achieve complete remission for acute leukemia. 65438-0976 The Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the First Hospital of Harbin Medical University wrote "Clinical Documentary of Five Cases of Acute Leukemia Treated with Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine". 1979, Rong Fuxiang and Zhang Tingdong reported in the Journal of New Medicine that the two patients survived for four and a half years and three years after being treated with 1 Aileen, both of which were acute myeloid leukemia.
1979 Zhang Tingdong and Rong Fuxiang published Ailing 1 Injection and Treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Based on Syndrome Differentiation in Heilongjiang Medicine. 1973 to 1978 were used to treat 55 cases of acute myeloid leukemia, among which 1973 to 1974 was used to treat 23 cases of Ailing 1, and 1975 to 1976. For each case, a detailed classification was carried out, and a clear curative effect was observed. All 55 cases were improved in different degrees, the remission rate was 70%, and 12 cases were completely relieved, with little side effects on patients. They also injected 12 rabbits with the disease 1 at a dose ten times that of adults, and found no toxic effects on heart, liver, spleen and kidney.
There are three important questions: 1) Do Zhang Tingdong and others know exactly that the function of treating cancer comes from "Ailing 1", rather than other traditional Chinese medicines and chemotherapy western medicines used at the same time? 2) Do they realize that the function of Aileen-1 comes from arsenic trioxide, and does not need mercuric chloride? 3) Do they know the effect of arsenic trioxide on promyelocytic leukemia? In the issue of Heilongjiang Medical Science 1979, we can see that Zhang Tingdong and Rong Fuxiang have clear answers to these three questions: 1) Three patients (one adult and two children) only used the number 1 and did not use other Chinese medicines and chemotherapy, which also showed the curative effect. At that time, children had lived for 4 years and adults had lived for 9 months. 2) On the page 1 1, they pointed out that "the active ingredient of" Bingling 1 "is arsenic trioxide" and other Chinese medicines are "strengthening the body resistance". They made it clear that these Chinese medicines are not used to treat leukemia, but to support patients' physical condition; 3) It is pointed out on pages 10 and 1 1 that they clearly point out that it has the best effect on promyelocytic leukemia.
It can be said that in 1979, the papers published by Zhang Tingdong and different colleagues clearly laid our understanding today: Arsenic trioxide is used to treat leukemia, especially acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), which is also a French-American-British type of M3 leukemia.
198 1 year Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University (Guidance: Zhang Tingdong; Written by: Li Yuanshan and Hu; Participants:,, Rong Fuxiang, Sun Hongde, Li, Wu Hematology Laboratory) published the Clinical Summary of 73 Cases of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treated by Aileen 1 in Heilongjiang Traditional Chinese Medicine, reporting that Aileen 1 had a complete remission rate of 24% and a total remission rate of 86%. At the 1982 National Symposium on Leukemia of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Zhang Tingdong and Li Yuanshan published "Aileen 1 Clinical Experimental Study on Acute Myeloid Leukemia-Analysis of 22 Cases of Complete Remission" and "Classification and Clinical Efficacy of 98 Cases of Non-lymphocytic Leukemia".
1984, Zhang Tingdong and Li Yuanshan published "Clinical Analysis and Experimental Study of Aileen 1 in the Treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia" in the Journal of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine. To summarize 8 1 case of acute myeloid leukemia treated by them since 1972, and analyze 22 cases of complete remission. They pointed out that among the 22 cases of complete remission, 7 cases were M2 type and 15 cases were M3 type leukemia (APL). They also pointed out that "M3 model is particularly effective". 1985, Zhang Tingdong and others wrote "Clinical Observation and Experimental Study of Aileen 1 (7 13) Injection in the Treatment of Acute Non-lymphocytic Leukemia".
199 1 year, Sun Hongde, Ma Ling, Hu, Zhang Tingdong, Rong Fuxiang, Wang, Feng Xiuqin published 16 Cases of Long-term Survival of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia Treated by TCM, which should be 1. According to the article in 199 1, they treated 32 cases of Aileen 1 acute promyelocytic leukemia from 1974 to 1985, and 19 cases were completely relieved, and 16 cases survived five times.
1992 Sun Hongde, Ma Ling, Hu and Zhang Tingdong published "Aileen 1 Treating 32 Cases of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia with TCM Syndrome Differentiation" in China Journal of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine. As an "exchange of experience", the content of the introduction is exactly the same as 199 1 year. Strangely, this article is basically quoted by English literature. This article is also in Chinese, and the content is a brief introduction of 199 1, but it is found that 1973 has an article, and it is obvious that 1979 has the best effect on APL.
Several problems in zhang tingdong's research.
Like other researchers at that time, Zhang Tingdong had no control. Is it because they don't know, or do they think they can't use no treatment as a control? 1982, Zhang Tingdong published a summary article in the Journal of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, indicating that he knew the norms of medical research, but he pointed out that "it is not allowed to establish a control group for patients with serious illness, even if it is a harmless' blank control', and only better therapies and new therapies can be used for comparative observation. For some' absolute' treatments, it is not necessary to choose a control group, such as acute leukemia or other malignant tumors, which can also be explained. " Some people accept this statement, others don't, but the reason is clear.
Does the theory of traditional Chinese medicine play a guiding role in the treatment of leukemia with arsenic trioxide? If we review these documents today, we can see that TCM syndrome differentiation is meaningless for arsenic trioxide to treat leukemia. For example, they talked about five kinds of Chinese medicines for acute leukemia, and there is no difference in the use of arsenic trioxide in treatment. For other auxiliary traditional Chinese medicines, these kinds may be useful, but when arsenic trioxide is proved to be effective and other traditional Chinese medicines can not use it, the significance of traditional Chinese medicine classification is uncertain. Western medicine has played a role in finding indications for the classification of leukemia. After they completely gave up TCM syndrome differentiation and classification, the indications and curative effects were more accurate. Interestingly, the first paper by Zhang Tingdong, Zhang Pengfei, Wang Shouren and Han Taiyun in 1973 didn't talk about the theory of traditional Chinese medicine at all, and later papers all talked about syndrome differentiation and classification of traditional Chinese medicine.
China's contribution to the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia
Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) was once considered as a kind of leukemia that caused serious death. From 65438 to 0973, the western medicine chemotherapy introduced by Bernard and others in France greatly improved the cure rate, and then the improved scheme became the mainstream treatment method in the world. 1973, Zhang Tingdong and others discovered the therapeutic effect of arsenic trioxide (As2O3) on leukemia. By 1979, it was completely clear that the best indication was M3 leukemia (APL).
From 65438 to 0983, Koeffler summarized the differentiation effects of various compounds (including retinoic acid) on human leukemia cells in vitro. 1983 Flynn of the University of Minnesota and others reported that an APL patient was treated with 13- cis retinoic acid, leukemia was relieved and died of other reasons. 1984 Nilsson of the Department of Internal Medicine, Lund University Hospital, Sweden reported a case of APL treated with 13- cis retinoic acid. 1986 Dutch Daenen et al. reported a case of APL treated with cis-retinoic acid. 1986 Fontana, the University of West Virginia reported a case of APL treated with 13- cis retinoic acid.
From 65438 to 0985, Wang of Shanghai Second Medical University cured a 5-year-old leukemia child with all-trans retinoic acid. During the period of 1987, Wang's research group reported in the English edition of Chinese Medical Journal that 6 APL patients received all-trans retinoic acid (combined and single) treatment. 65438-0988 Wang's research group published a paper in the American Journal of Blood, summarizing that they treated 24 APL patients with all-trans retinoic acid and achieved complete remission. This paper made doctors pay attention to the treatment of leukemia with all-trans retinoic acid, which attracted widespread attention and was quickly repeated at home and abroad, bringing good news to APL patients.
65438-0995 Huang Shilin, Guo, Xiangyang, Wang Xiaobo and Lin Huixian, the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, published the Clinical Study of Compound Indigo Tablet in the Treatment of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia in Chinese Journal of Hematology. Sixty cases of APL were treated with Compound Indigo Tablet, and the complete remission rate was 98%. The compound Chinese medicine contains indigo naturalis, Radix Pseudostellariae, Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae and Realgar, and it is estimated that arsenic sulfide of Realgar plays a role.
1February, 1996, Zhang Peng, Wang Shuye and Hu Longhu from the First Clinical Hospital of Harbin Medical University published "Arsenic trioxide injection in the treatment of 72 cases of acute promyelocytic leukemia" in the second issue of Chinese Journal of Hematology that year, summarizing their use of arsenic trioxide (mercury-free) from 1992 to 1995. The complete remission rate of newly treated patients was 73%, and that of relapsed patients was 52%. There is no cross-resistance with all-trans retinoic acid.
On August 1996 and 1 day, American Blood magazine published,, Shi Xuegeng, Ni Jianhua, Zhong, Si GY, Jin Xiaolong, Li Xiusong, Xiong Shumin, Sun GL, Ma Jun, Zhang Tingdong, G Claude, Wang Yizhen, etc. This paper reports that Wang, Wang, Wang and others led the Shanghai Institute of Hematology to cultivate leukemia cells in vitro, and initiated the research on the molecular mechanism of arsenic trioxide in the treatment of leukemia.
1997, Xu, Duan Xiujin, Xu Ying, Xin, Song Xiaohong, Zhang Tingdong reported in China Journal of Hematology that 1 case of APL patients with three relapses survived for 20 years after taking Ailing 1 every time.
Zhixiang Shen, Chen Guoqiang, Ni Jianhua, Li Xiusong and Xiong Shumin published papers in Blood magazine 65438-0997. They treated 15 cases of APL with purified arsenic trioxide, of which 10 cases only used arsenic trioxide, achieving a complete remission rate of 90%.
65438-0998 The most authoritative medical magazine in the world, The New England Journal of Medicine, published papers from Si Long-Kettering Cancer Memorial Hospital in new york and Soignet of Cornell Medical College. They used arsenic trioxide on 12 APL patients who relapsed after other treatments, and observed that 1 1 cases were completely relieved, which may be related to partial cell differentiation and apoptosis.
Since then, the international medical community has widely accepted the therapeutic effect of arsenic trioxide on APL.
Belated approval
Tu Youyou's and Zhang Tingdong's research results are recognized at home and abroad: they have been applied, and have directly produced the effect of saving lives. However, due to different reasons, they are not fully recognized by China and lack international recognition.
The discovery and application of artemisinin are widely known. However, Tu Youyou's contribution has been controversial. The reason remains to be studied by historians. Initially, it can be seen that, unlike Qixin's "two bombs and one satellite" project, there are often contradictions in artemisinin research from beginning to end, between different research groups and between different people within the research group. At that time, researchers, because of the Cultural Revolution, generally had low qualifications, and they were not convinced by each other with the research team. The paper is not written in time, the publication is not standardized, and the English paper lags behind, leaving room for controversy. If you publish your paper first and then share it with others, there will be much less controversy. However, although this is good for researchers, it is not necessarily the best for patients: if all research groups have to wait for a paper to be published before other research groups can use drugs, then some patients will not be able to use drugs, and some of them may not exist.
Although Zhang Tingdong has been reported by The New York Times, he has not been fully affirmed by China, and is almost unknown in international academic and medical circles. The reasons are not contradictory. Some people in his research group had conflicts, but they were all far away. In the papers published from 65438 to 0973, Zhang Tingdong's key role is clear. He is not well recognized, which may be related to his region and his lack of English papers, international vision and international exchanges. The possibility that he didn't fully realize the importance of his work can't be completely ruled out.
1998, in the Journal of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine,,, Wang introduced that "Since the early 1970s, Harbin Medical University (hereinafter referred to as Harbin Medical University) has found that arsenic trioxide (hereinafter referred to as arsenic trioxide) is effective in treating promyelocytic leukemia (APL) in two practices. In recent two years, in cooperation with Harbin Medical University, we learned about APL relapse patients who are tolerant to all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and conventional chemotherapy drugs through arsenic oxide injection, which affirmed Zhang Tingdong's work.
However, almost all English documents do not know the key role of Zhang Tingdong, and the cited documents do not mention his name. Almost all English literature is unknown. Zhang Tingdong's paper on arsenic trioxide in the treatment of leukemia was published as early as 1973 to 1979. Many English documents, including those published by domestic scholars abroad and those published by foreign scholars, all set the discovery of arsenic trioxide in treating leukemia as 1992 or even 1996. For example, repeating China's results will also help to spread China's findings in 1998 Soignet and others' papers to the world. There are two articles about arsenic trioxide treating APL in China, the introduction says that arsenic trioxide can cause complete remission in China recently, and then Sun Hongde and others' short story "Exchange of Experience" in 1992 Journal of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Zhang Peng and others are quoted.
The reporter of Science introduced arsenic trioxide in 1996. Although Zhang Tingdong was introduced, he said that his article was published in 1992.
Zhang Tingdong himself seldom writes English papers. 200 1, Zhang tingdong, together with the first author (other authors are Wang cast steel, Wang, Wang, Wang, and the correspondent is), published a paper in the international journal Oncogenes, introducing arsenic trioxide. In the introduction, they also quoted Chen Guoqiang and others as saying 1996 that arsenic trioxide has recently been found to have an impact on APL. The article shows that the research on arsenic trioxide began at 197 1, but there is no literature, claiming to have treated more than 1000 patients with different cancers, and observed the curative effects on several cancers, including "chronic myeloid leukemia, lymphoma, esophageal cancer, especially APL", but there is no literature citation. Then, the article said that the initial report on the role of APL was in 1992, citing Sun Hongde's "Exchange of Experience". In this way, Zhang Tingdong himself, as the first author, didn't cite several literatures from 1960s to 1970s, completely drowning out the efficacy of arsenic trioxide on leukemia published by 1973 and 1974, and the discovery that 1979 clearly put forward the best efficacy on APL. However, the paper of 1992 and the paper of 1979 are essentially the same, neither changing the composition of the drugs used nor the indications.
In 2002, when Zhu Jun, Lallemand-Breitenbach, de The and others introduced the therapeutic effect of arsenic on cancer in Nature, they showed Zhang Tingdong's symbolic effect in 1970, but they quoted Sun Hongde and others' experience in 1992 (citing the first article to prove that arsenic trioxide can treat APL).
Because these two articles, 1992 and 1996, are Chinese articles, and the literature of 1970s has not been cited, foreign scholars generally cannot know the original texts.