In medicinal chemistry, one of the most studied molecules in recent history is taxol. Taxol is a versatile natural product that is used in various cancer treatment regimens. It is administered to patients with breast, lung, and ovarian cancers, and is currently being studied for the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity and tongue. Taxol has been tested in a number of research and clinical phase trials to determine feasibility, toxicity, and cytotoxicity against oral squamous cell carcinoma as a single drug regimen and as a contributing drug component in treatment plans. This paper reviews over forty articles that examine cell lines, murine models, and human results for the response of taxol against squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the oral cavity and the tongue.

Using a technique of short-term in vitro culture, cytogenetic studies were performed on splenic tissue from 12 patients with chronic granulocytic leukaemia. In eight patients the disease was in its chronic phase and had been treated with busulphan (seven cases) or splenic irradiation (one case). In five of these patients, small numbers of dividing cells possessing the Philadelphia (Ph1) chromosome were observed; in one, only Ph1 -negative metaphases, presumably those of lymphocytes, occurred, and in two patients no dividing cells were obtained. In four patients chronic granulocytic leukaemia had undergone metamorphosis to an acute phase: in two of these patients no dividing cells were observed in splenic cultures with or without added phytohaemagglutinin: this result may have been attributable to prior cytotoxic therapy. In cultures from the other two patients in metamorphosis, almost all dividing cells were Ph1 -positve and many cells possessed two Ph1 chromosomes. Full cytogenetic analysis in one of these cases showed that the spleen contained several closely related cell lines, apparently reflecting progressive tumour cell evolution.