Anthracycline Antibiotics

F. M. MUGGIA When faced with the inadequacies of current cancer treatment, we prefer to look at what the future may hold. Quite often, we take for granted the past, preferring research into totally new areas. However, the persistent development of fertile soil may yield surprising rewards for those who choose to build on the knowledge of the past--hence, this symposium on anthracycline antibiotics. Although the anthracycline antibiotics represent much of the present and future of cancer treatment, their actual use c stretches back barely two decades to the pioneering efforts of Aurelio Di Marco, who characterized the antitumor properties of daunomycin and adriamycin. * The clinical application of these two compounds heralded a decade of excitement among oncologists dealing with pediatric tumors, breast cancer, leukemias, and lymphomas, and opened new hope for patients afflicted with sar comas and a variety of other tumors that had been deemed - sistant to chemotherapy. These successes were tempered with the realization that the antitumor effect of anthracyclines could be achieved at times only at the very high price of risking cardiac decompensation and, almost invariably, with the occurrence of alopecia and other acute toxicities. This record of past achievements and problems has slowly given way to a present increasingly illuminated by our ability to modify the distressing toxicities of these agents. Detailed clinical studies supplemented by ingenious laboratory models have gradually elucidated mechanisms and risk factors im plicated in the cardiomyopathy.

Developed from a symposium at the 205th National Meeting of the ACS in Denver, March 1993, held to bring together researchers who are involved in the direct design and synthesis of new drugs with researchers who are investigating biochemical processes and mechanisms of action. The volume covers research relevant to the development of novel anthracyclines, such as the synthesis of promising new analogs, studies of mechanisms of action, and new approaches to improving properties for this class of compounds by using different drug- delivery and tumor-targeting systems. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This series presents critical reviews of the present position and future trends in modern chemical research. It contains short and concise reports on chemistry, each written by the world renowned experts. The series is still valid and useful after five or ten years. More information as well as the electronic version of the whole content is available at: springerlink.com.

With contributions by numerous experts

Medicinal Chemistry of Anticancer Drugs, Second Edition, provides an updated treatment from the point of view of medicinal chemistry and drug design, focusing on the mechanism of action of antitumor drugs from the molecular level, and on the relationship between chemical structure and chemical and biochemical reactivity of antitumor agents. Antitumor chemotherapy is a very active field of research, and a huge amount of information on the topic is generated every year. Cytotoxic chemotherapy is gradually being supplemented by a new generation of drugs that recognize specific targets on the surface or inside cancer cells, and resistance to antitumor drugs continues to be investigated. While these therapies are in their infancy, they hold promise of more effective therapies with fewer side effects. Although many books are available that deal with clinical aspects of cancer chemotherapy, this book provides a sorely needed update from the point of view of medicinal chemistry and drug design. Presents information in a clear and concise way using a large number of figures Historical background provides insights on how the process of drug discovery in the anticancer field has evolved Extensive references to primary literature

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