Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 6, Issue 3, 2000

Elucidating the molecular function of hu MDR 1 protein (also called P-glycoprotein or P-gp 1 ) and the precise role this protein plays in clinically relevant tumor drug resistance remains a perplexing problem. Hundreds of reports over the past decades summarize a dizzying array of observations relevant to hu MDR 1 protein function. A dominant model in the MDR literature that is used to explain many observations is Read More

Classical therapeutic modalities such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy not only fail to cure the great majority of malignant tumors, but their employment often leads to severe and debilitating side effects. The severe cancer related morbidity is also in direct correlation with the use of x-radiation and chemotherapy, making them less than ideal forms of therapy. The development of hybridoma technology and the advanc Read More

A large body of evidence has accumulated indicating involvement of oxidative stress (OS) in the mode of action of various bioactive substances, including those of the immune system. The data for anticancer drugs (main and miscellaneous) are summarized herein. Although diverse origins pertain, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are frequently generated by redox cycling via electron transfer (ET) groups, such as quinones (or Read More

Preformed vitamin A (all-trans-retinol and its esters) and provitamin A (beta-carotene) are essential dietary nutrients that provide a source of retinol. Both retinyl esters and beta-carotene are metabolized to retinol. The retinol-binding proteins on binding retinol provide a means for solubilizing retinol for delivery to target tissues and for regulating retinol plasma concentrations. Oxidation of retinol provides retinal, whi Read More

A substantial proportion of breast cancers are large (greator than3 cm) or locally advanced (T 3 , T 4 , TXN 2 ) at the time of initial presentation. The therapeutic goals that must be achieved in patients with such cancers are to obtain adequate local disease control so that surgery can be performed and to abolish occult distant metastases therefore improving survival. Over the past three decades conventional adjuvant ch Read More

Transurethral resection (TUR) of the superficial transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the bladder is known to be insufficient in controlling the disease because of the unacceptable rates of recurrence, progression and ultimate cystectomy. Adjuvant intravesical chemo-and or immunotherapy is administered in an effort to enhance the efficacy of surgery alone. The initial tumor stage and grade, the multifocality of this cancer and Read More