After the Curies discovered radium (in the form of radium chloride) in 1898, scientists began to isolate radium on an industrial scale, with the intent of using it for radiotherapy treatments. Radium salts, including radium bromide, were most often used by placing the chemical in a tube that was then passed over or inserted into diseased tissue in the body. Many of the first scientists to try to determine radium's uses were affected by their exposure to the radioactive material. Pierre Curie went so far as to self-inflict a severe chemical skin reaction by applying a radium source directly to his forearm, which ultimately created a skin lesion. All types of therapeutic tests were performed for different skin diseases including eczema, lichen and psoriasis. Later, it was hypothesized that radium could be used to treat cancerous diseases.