Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry (Formerly Current Medicinal Chemistry - Anti-Cancer Agents) - Volume 8, Issue 2, 2008

Cancer has been one of the most deadly diseases characterized by uncontrolled cell divisions and the ability of these cells to spread either by invasion, or by metastasis. It has overtaken the heart disease which is one of the commonest causes of death in some developed countries. Cancer affects people at all ages, but risk tends to increase with age. Worldwide over 11 million people are diagnosed with cancer and 7 million Read More

The enediyne antibiotics, the potent anticancer agents that contain diyne-ene functional groups, are appreciated for their novel molecular architecture, their remarkable biological activity and their fascinating mechanism of action. Their anticancer activity is apparently due to their ability to damage DNA through radical-mediated hydrogen abstraction. The enediyne antibiotics show markedly cytotoxicities against ca Read More

This review is a comprehensive survey of acetylenic anticancer agents obtained from living organisms. Acetylenic metabolites belong to a class of molecules containing triple bond(s). They are found in plants, fungi, microorganisms, and marine invertebrates. Although acetylenes are common as components of terrestrial plants, fungi, and bacteria, it is only within the last 30 years that biologically active polyacetylenes having u Read More

Because invasion is, either directly or via metastasis formation, the main cause of death in cancer patients, development of efficient anti-invasive agents is an important research challenge. We have established a screening program for potentially anti-invasive compounds. The assay is based on organotypic confronting cultures between human invasive cancer cells and a fragment of normal tissue in three dimensions. Anti-inv Read More

Regulatory, receptor-binding peptides could be considered as future agents of choice for diagnostic imaging and therapy of cancers because their receptors are overexpressed in various human cancer cells. Peptides exhibit several advantages over classical macromolecules or drugs, e.g., from the chemical point of view: they are easy to synthesize and can withstand harsh chemical conditions which are required for chelation an Read More

A common modification of eukaryotic and bacterial tRNAs is isopentenylation of the adenosine at position 37, with the formation of isopentenyladenosine. N6-Isopentenyladenosine plays a major role in posttranscriptional processes, including the function of mammalian selenocysteine tRNA. This molecule seems to have metabolic effects that, for its relationships with isoprenoid metabolism and its direct Read More

Antifolates that inhibit the key enzymes thymidylate synthase (TS) and dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) have found clinical utility as antitumor and antiopportunistic agents. Methotrexate {MTX, (1)} and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) were among the first clinically useful DHFR and TS inhibitors, respectively. The development of resistance to 5-FU, its occasional unpredictable activity and toxicity resulted in the search of novel anti Read More

Gene-directed enzyme prodrug therapy (GDEPT) involves the treatment concept of having maximal efficacy and minimal adverse effects. Several GDEPT strategies have been developed combining cytosine deaminase and 5-fluorocytosine, cytochrome P450 2B1 and cyclophosphamide, and carboxylesterase (CES) and irinotecan in experimental models. The active forms of these prodrugs, however, are not a frontline therapy Read More