Current Cancer Drug Targets - Volume 2, Issue 3, 2002

IGF-IR (Insulin-like growth factor receptor 1) is a tetrameric glycoprotein composed of two α and two β subunits. The α subunit localizes extra-cellularly for ligand binding, whereas the β subunit consists of transmembrane chains and a cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase domain for enzymatic activity. IGF-IR ligands, IGF-I and IGF-II, are mitogens and survival factors for many cancer cells. Binding of ligands to the IGF-IR initiates Read More

A major challenge in cancer chemotherapy is the selective delivery of small molecule anti-cancer agents to tumor cells. Water-soluble polymer-drug conjugates exhibit good water solubility, increased halflife, and potent anti-tumor effects. By localizing the drug at the desired site of action, macromolecular therapeutics have improved efficacy and enhanced safety at lower doses. Since small molecule drugs and macromolec Read More

ß-Lapachone is an ortho naphthoquinone, originally isolated from a tree whose extract has been used medicinally for centuries. Recent investigations suggest its potential application against numerous diseases. Its lethality at micromolar (μm) concentrations against a variety of cancer cells in culture indicates its potential against tumor growth. A few experiments with positive results have been performed that ap Read More

Nuclear Hormone Receptors (NR) represent one of the most promising protein families in terms of therapeutic applications. These transcription factors are naturally switched on and off by small molecule hormones presenting physico-chemical properties very similar to therapeutic chemical entities. NRs represent therefore intrinsically a very good family of protein targets for the prevention and treatment of diverse diseases, Read More

Studies of cancer invasion / metastasis and drug resistance have in the past generally proceeded along the separate pathways of research. Recently, however, interest has been focused on the possible relationship between drug resistance and cancer invasion and metastasis. A relationship between these two phenotypes has been demonstrated by two types of observation: firstly, some tumor cells selected for r Read More