Platinum-based chemotherapy drug key to testicular cancer 'cure'

London, July 29 (ANI): A platinum-based chemotherapy drug has upped the survival rate of British men suffering from testicular cancer by 96 per cent.

Figures compiled by Cancer Research UK show that 96 percent men have successfully been treated for testicular cancer, which is a big improvement since the 1970s when the survival rate was lower than 70 percent, the Independent reported.

Cisplatin had first been identified as a compound in the 19th century but researchers did not realise its application in oncology until the late 1970s.

Despite its side-effects, ranging from numbness in fingers and toes to tinnitus and hearing loss, the compound is one of the most commonly-used cancer drugs. (ANI)