Abstract
DURING the investigation of the toxicology of griseofulvin, it was shown1 that the antibiotic when given parenterally is a mitotic poison, in some respects similar to colchicine. Clinical investigation2,3 showed that this did not represent an acute toxic hazard in clinical use. Nevertheless, interference with mitosis seems to us to imply a greater possibility of carcinogenic action on long-term administration than is the case with compounds devoid of this property. Colchicine has not yet been studied adequately from this point of view, and it was decided to include a group treated with this drug in a study of the long-term effects of griseofulvin.
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References
Paget, G. E., and Walpole, A. L., Nature, 182, 1320 (1958) ; A.M.A. Arch. Dermat., 81, 746 (1960).
Williams, D. I., Marten, R. H., and Sarkany, I., Lancet, ii, 1212 (1958).
Blank, H., and Roth, jun., F. J., A.M.A. Arch. Dermat., 79, 259 (1959).
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PAGET, G., ALCOCK, S. Griseofulvin and Colchicine: Lack of Carcinogenic Action. Nature 188, 867 (1960). https://doi.org/10.1038/188867a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/188867a0
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