Recent developments in the field of antitumour anthracyclines

Anticancer Drug Resistance Induced by Disruption of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae NPR2 Gene: a Novel Component Involved in Cisplatin- and Doxorubicin-Provoked Cell Kill

“…Although the combination of cisplatin resistance and hypersensitivity to cadmium chloride may be poorly understood, it is not unprecedented in either yeast (Perego et al, 1997) or mammalian cells (Farnworth et al, 1990), as discussed previously (Schenk et al, 2002). Our finding that NPR2 disruption led to a 4-fold doxorubicin resistance is an important observation, as unresponsiveness to anthracycline treatment constitutes a tremendous clinical problem (Monneret, 2001). Doxorubicin is thought to inhibit topoisomerase II through DNA intercalation (Pratt et al, 1994).…”

Anthracyclines: Molecular Advances and Pharmacologic Developments in Antitumor Activity and Cardiotoxicity

“…Molecular mechanisms and pharmacological or clinical correlates of anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity have been reviewed by Myers (1998), Singal et al (2000), , and Zucchi and Danesi (2003), among others. The pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic relationships of anthracycline activity or toxicity have been reviewed by Danesi et al (2002), and progress in the pharmaceutical designing of new anthracyclines has been reviewed by Monneret (2001), among others. Finally, mechanisms of tumor resistance and possible methods for overcoming them have been reviewed by Benjamin et al (2000), Tan et al (2000), Lothstein et al (2001), and Ejendal and Hrycyna (2002), among others.…”

Isolation, Characterization, and Heterologous Expression of the Biosynthesis Gene Cluster for the Antitumor Anthracycline Steffimycin

“…Anthracycline antibiotics are aromatic polyketide compounds widely used as therapeutics for the treatment of a variety of cancers (37). Daunorubicin and doxorubicin were the first identified anthracyclines, isolated from Streptomyces spp.…”