Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry (Formerly Current Medicinal Chemistry - Anti-Cancer Agents) - Volume 11, Issue 3, 2011

The reputation of garlic (Allium Sativum) as an effective remedy for tumours extends back to the Egyptian Codex Ebers of 1550 B.C. Half a century ago, Weisberger and Pensky (1958). have reported the tumour inhibitory property of a sulfhydryl-blocking agent in Garlic [1]. During the past 25 years, numerous studies of several organosulfur compounds extracted from garlic (Table 1) have demonstrated their biological effects i Read More

Garlic and garlic-derived compounds reduce the development of mammary cancer in animals and suppress the growth of human breast cancer cells in culture. Oil-soluble compounds derived from garlic, such as diallyl disulfide (DADS), are more effective than water-soluble compounds in suppressing breast cancer. Mechanisms of action include the activation of metabolizing enzymes that detoxify carcinogens, the suppres Read More

Preclinical studies have shown that fresh garlic extracts, aged garlic, garlic oil and specific organosulfur compounds generated by processing garlic could alter carcinogen metabolism, inhibit tumor cell growth through induction of cell cycle arrest or apoptosis, or angiogenesis. In particular, recent studies have suggested that anticarcinogenic effects of certain garlic compounds may implicate at least in part a modulation of h Read More

The ability of garlic preparations to inhibit cancer cell-growth has been attributed to a group of structurally-related organosulfur compounds found in the crushed clove. Historically, interest has centred on three such compounds as allicin, diallyl disulfide and diallyl trisulfide, with less interest on E- and Z-ajoene. A recently developed synthetic route from our laboratory for preparing ajoene analogues allows access to derivatives c Read More

Organic sulfur compounds (OSCs) derived from plants, fungi or bacteria can serve as chemopreventive and/or chemotherapeutic agents and have been attracting medical and research interest as a promising source for novel anti-cancer agents. Garlic, which has long been used as a medicinal plant in different cultures due to its multiple beneficial effects, contains a consistent number of OSCs, the majority of which are currently Read More

Altered cellular metabolism is a hallmark of tumorigenesis. Described first in 1924 by Otto Warburg, a cancer cell undergoes complete metabolic reprogramming to attain nutrient self-sufficiency for proliferation and survival. Interplay between diverse signalling cascades confers this metabolic advantage. In this review we focus on signalling molecules that regulate this altered metabolic paradigm in a cancer cell with emphasis Read More

Previous cancer chemoprevention studies from our laboratories and by other investigators have demonstrated that the extract of red beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.), the FDA approved red food color E162, can be effective in suppressing the development of multiorgan tumors in experimental animals. To further explore this finding, we have compared the cytotoxic effect of the red beetroot extract with anticancer drug, doxoru Read More

Tumors with mutations in the gene encoding the serine-threonine protein kinase BRAF are dependent on the MAPK signaling pathway for their growth, what offers an opportunity to test oncogene-targeted therapy. Mutations at the position V600 of BRAF were described in approximately 8% of all solid tumors, including 50% of melanomas, 30 to 70% of papillary thyroid carcinomas and 5 to 8% of colorectal adenocarcinomas. Read More

Treatment of metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) after progression on docetaxel chemotherapy is a challenging clinical scenario with limited availability of treatment options. Re-treatment with docetaxel, either as monotherapy or in combination with other cytotoxics or targeted agents has shown durable responses. However, most docetaxel re-treatment studies have been either retrospective or early p Read More

Mortality-to-incidence ratio in cancer patients is extremely high, positioning cancer as a major cause of death worldwide. Despite hundreds of clinical trials for anti-cancer drugs that are currently in progress, most clinical trials for novel drug treatments fail to pass Phase I. However, previously developed drugs with novel anti-tumor properties offer a viable and cost-effective alternative to fight cancer. Histamine favor Read More

The drug design of more effective and less toxic therapeutic agents for multiple myeloma (MM) is mushrooming in parallel to a better understanding of the underlying patho-physiology of this common hematological neoplasm. A decade back, the re-birth of Thalidomide as an anti-neoplastic agent completely transformed the treatment paradigm of patients with MM. Its effectiveness, though, has been jolted by signi Read More