Nitric Oxide-Releasing Molecules for Cancer Therapy and Chemoprevention

Abstract

The Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology in 1998 to Furchgott, Ignarro, and Murad provided a new impetus to research in prodrugs of the messenger molecule, nitric oxide (NO). Although more famously known for its cardiovascular roles in the treatment of angina (nitrates) and more recently erectile dysfunction (Viagra R ), NO has been extensively researched within the realm of cancer biology. This review briefly highlights the various chemical classes of NO donors with potential utility in cancer chemotherapy and chemoprevention. These molecules release NO upon bioactivation and thus engender the therapeutic rationale of using them in a clinical setting. Bearing these factors in mind, and in the light of current research findings, special emphasis is given to a newer generation of NORMs (nitric oxide-releasing molecules), viz., NONOates, NO-NSAIDs, and furoxans.