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Allopurinol, a drug normally prescribed for gout, is being used to test for
tumours in patients at high risk of developing cancer due to genetic or
environmental factors. Developed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University in
Baltimore, Maryland, the test uses allopurinol to temporarily slow DNA
production in cancer cells, causing some components of DNA—called
pyrimidines—to accumulate in the blood. These can be detected in the
patient’s urine.