NSC-631570 (Ukrain) is a semisynthetic compound of thiophosphoric acid and the alkaloid chelidonine from the plant Chelidonium majus. Ukrain was promoted as a drug to treat cancer and viral infections, including HIV and hepatitis. It exerts a selective cytotoxic effect on tumor cells in vitro and in vivo and shows the ability to modulate immunocyte functions. Ukrain has been used in complementary herbal medicine for more than 20 years for the treatment of benign and malignant tumors. Thus, in unresectable advanced pancreatic cancer, Ukrain alone and in combination with gemcitabine nearly doubled the median survival times in patients suffering from advanced pancreatic cancer. Inhibition of the growth of cancer cell lines in vitro, tumor mass reductions in vivo, and partial and complete remissions in oncological patients, occur as a result of Ukrain application. The drug may interfere directly with the metabolism of cancer cells and it also improves the functioning of the host immune system. Diminished synthesis of DNA, RNA and proteins, the inhibition of cellular oxygen consumption, and the induction of programmed cell death in malignant cells have been described following Ukrain administration. The drug can also modify the immunological response via an increase in the number of total T-cells and a normalization of the T-helper/T-suppressor lymphocyte ratio. However,according to the American Cancer Society and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, there is no evidence that Ukrain is an effective cancer treatment. Through an Austrian company known as Nowicky Pharma, the drug, which was never approved by regulators, was sold as a treatment for AIDS, radiation-induced diseases and as a cure for all forms of cancer. Ukrain is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration but is available in parts of Europe and from Tijuana clinics.