Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry (Formerly Current Medicinal Chemistry - Anti-Cancer Agents) - Volume 13, Issue 8, 2013

Blueberries are amongst the most commonly consumed berries in the United States. Berries in general are rich in phenolic compounds, which are known for their high antioxidant capacity. Specifically, evidence from in vitro, in vivo and a few clinical studies suggest that blueberries and their active constituents show promise as effective anti-cancer agents, both in the form of functional foods and as nutritional supplements. So Read More

There is increased appreciation by the scientific community that dietary phytochemicals can be potential weapons in the fight against cancer. Emerging data has provided new insights into the molecular and cellular framework needed to establish novel mechanism-based strategies for cancer prevention by selective bioactive food components. The unique chemical composition of the pomegranate fruit, rich in antioxida Read More

While the anticancer effect of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 fatty acids), particularly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), has been the subject of intense study, our understanding regarding the underlying mechanisms of omega-3 fatty acids against cancer is still limited. Recent studies describing the cancer protective effect of EPA and DHA have sparked a renewed inter Read More

Epidemiological and migratory evidence suggests that dietary soy consumption can lower the risk for breast cancer. The role of soy isoflavones in cancer prevention and promotion is somewhat unclear. There are two views in terms of soy isoflavones and breast cancer. One line of evidence suggests that soy and its isoflavones have exhibited cancer-preventive properties including lengthening the menstrual cycle, altering est Read More

Cancer cachexia is a life-threatening condition characterized by involuntary body weight loss and skeletal muscle wasting. In addition to being associated with poor prognosis and reduced survival, patients with cachexia exhibit a critical loss of physical function that impinges upon their ability to perform basic activities of daily living. Consequently, there is a loss of independence and a drastically reduced quality of life. De Read More

Several nutritional assessment tools have been used in oncology settings to monitor nutritional status and its associated prognostic significance. Body composition is fundamental for the assessment of nutritional status. Recently, the use of accurate and precise body composition tools has significantly added to the value of nutritional assessment in this clinical setting. Computerized tomography (CT) is an example of a techn Read More

The number of patients with colorectal cancer, the third most frequently diagnosed malignancy in the world, has increased markedly over the past 20 years and will continue to increase in the future. Despite recent advances in chemotherapy, currently used anticancer molecules are unable to improve the prognosis of advanced or recurrent colorectal cancer, which remains incurable. The transport of classical drugs by nanopar Read More

Biflavonoids are dimers of flavonoid moieties linked by a C-C or C-O-C bond. Simple, complex, rearranged, natural and ketalized Diels-Alder adducts, benzofuran derivatives, and spirobiflavonoids are some of the structural groups of biflavonoids. These compounds are mainly distributed in the Gymnosperms, Angiosperms (monocots and dicots), ferns (Pteridophyta), and mosses (Bryophyta). Biflavonoids have shown a vari Read More

Melanoma-associated antigen (MAGE) is expressed on the surface of multiple tumor cell types and is a promising target of biotherapeutic drug delivery via the anti-MAGE-A1 antibody. In this study, a human single-chain variable fragment (scFv) antibody phage library was generated and applied to recombinant MAGE-A1-coated immunotubes by phage display technology. The soluble anti- MAGE-A1 scFv was expressed and Read More

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor, celecoxib, causes growth inhibition of human gastric carcinoma cells, but it remains unclear whether celecoxib inhibits Helicobacter pylori-induced invasion of gastric cancer cells. The adenine nucleotide translocator (ANT) is a mitochondrial bi-functional protein. We speculate that ANT-dependent pathways might contribute to H. pylori-induced invasion and metastasis of gastric cancer cell Read More

Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChR) are expressed in cells without nervous origin. mAChR are up-regulated in tumor cells and their stimulation can modulate tumor growth. In this work we investigated the ability of mAChR activation to induce tumor cell death. We studied the action of a combination of low doses of the muscarinic agonist carbachol plus paclitaxel, a chemotherapeutic agent frequently used in b Read More

Glaucocalyxin (Gla) A-C are major ent-kauranoid diterpenoids isolated from Rabdosia japonica var. glaucocalyx, a plant used in Chinese traditional medicine as an antitumor and anti-inflammatory agent. The present investigation was carried out to observe whether cellular reduced glutathione (GSH) plays important roles in Gla -induced cytotoxicity. Among major ent-kauranoid diterpenoids isolated, Gla A and B dose-dependentl Read More

A series of dehydroepiandrosterone derivatives containing dihydrazone unit was synthesized via a convenient condensation procedure, and which were evaluated for their potential anticancer activities. The preliminary assays indicated that some of the newly synthesized compounds exhibited good antitumor activities against human hepatocellular liver carcinoma (HepG2), heptoma (Huh-7), gastric cancer (BGC-823) and breast Read More