On Dec. 19, 1978, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved cisplatin (Platinol) for use in combination with other drugs in the treatment of metastatic testicular and metastatic ovarian cancer.

Bristol-Myers Squibb also licensed carboplatin, a second-generation platinum drug with fewer side effects, in 1979.

Cisplatin, a platinum-containing anticancer compound with unique biologic effects, has been used for treatment of numerous human cancers including bladder, head and neck, lung, ovarian, and testicular cancers. It is effective against various types of cancers, including carcinomas, germ cell tumors, lymphomas, and sarcomas.

Cisplatin and other similar platinum-based drugs were developed with National Cancer Institute (NCI) support. They are prescribed for an estimated 10 to 20 percent of all cancer patients.

Carboplatin entered the U.S. market as Paraplatin(®) in 1989 for initial treatment of advanced ovarian cancer in established combination with other approved chemotherapeutic agents. Numerous platin derivatives have been further developed with more or less success and the third derivative to be approved in 1994 was oxaliplatin under the name of Eloxatin(®).