The Search for New Anticancer Drugs


Book Description

Most of the anti-cancer drugs in use today were discovered by happy accident rather than design, yet the rational design of better anti-cancer drugs remains a cherished goal, and one of the most important challenges facing medical science. This book represents a compilation of views and progress reports which illustrate the diversity of approaches to the problem. Recent research has confirmed the belief that critical genetic changes are at work in cancer cells. The genome, then (DNA in biochemical terms), surely represents a critical target for specific chemotherapy of cancer, and several chapters address the issue of attacking DNA, gene targetting, and the like. Others deal with principles of rational design, exploitation of novel modalities and targets, or the nuts and bolts of antitumour drug testing. While no attempt has been made to provide a comprehensive coverage of this wide-ranging and vitally important subject, the present volume in the series will provide much food for thought.




Anticancer Drug Development Guide


Book Description

This unique volume traces the critically important pathway by which a "molecule" becomes an "anticancer agent. " The recognition following World War I that the administration of toxic chemicals such as nitrogen mustards in a controlled manner could shrink malignant tumor masses for relatively substantial periods of time gave great impetus to the search for molecules that would be lethal to specific cancer cells. Weare still actively engaged in that search today. The question is how to discover these "anticancer" molecules. Anticancer Drug Development Guide: Preclinical Screening, Clinical Trials, and Approval, Second Edition describes the evolution to the present of preclinical screening methods. The National Cancer Institute's high-throughput, in vitro disease-specific screen with 60 or more human tumor cell lines is used to search for molecules with novel mechanisms of action or activity against specific phenotypes. The Human Tumor Colony-Forming Assay (HTCA) uses fresh tumor biopsies as sources of cells that more nearly resemble the human disease. There is no doubt that the greatest successes of traditional chemotherapy have been in the leukemias and lymphomas. Since the earliest widely used in vivo drug screening models were the murine L 1210 and P388 leukemias, the community came to assume that these murine tumor models were appropriate to the discovery of "antileukemia" agents, but that other tumor models would be needed to discover drugs active against solid tumors.




Natural Products and Cancer Drug Discovery


Book Description

This volume will cover the natural products as they relate to cancer chemotherapy. The topics will include history and current status , recent launches, new clinical candidates and approved drugs directly derived from natural products, current and future cancer target opportunities for natural products, leveraging natural products as tools for new target generation , new approaches to cancer drug discovery through natural products based lead generation, and enabling technologies which leverage the unique attributes of natural products.




Cancer Drug Discovery


Book Description

The reader will discover a comprehensive and multifaceted overview of the history of the development of anticancer drugs deeply influenced by the cell concept of cancer and future directions for the development of new anticancer drugs. First, this book documents the scientific progress in biological science over the last 70 years and the influence this progress had in cancer research. Summaries and charts of important discoveries complete this overview. Furthermore, this book outlines the process of anticancer drug development with a focus on the characteristic drug groups of each era, related to advancements of chemistry and biological sciences. This book also provides brief mechanism of action of drugs, illustrated by comprehensive timelines and conceptual cartoons. This book finally sums up the limitations of the current anticancer drug development and seeks new directions for anticancer drug discovery, considering under the systemic view of cancer.




Cancer Drug Design and Discovery


Book Description

The ultimate source of information on the design of new anticancer agents, emphasizing small molecules, this newest work covers recent notable successes resulting from the human genome and cancer genomics projects. These advances have provided information on targets involved in specific cancers that are leading to effective medicines for at least some of the common solid tumors. Unique sections explain the basic underlying principles of cancer drug development and provide a practical introduction to modern methods of drug design. Appealing to a broad audience, this is an excellent reference for translational researchers interested in cancer biology and medicine as well as students in pharmacy, pharmacology, or medicinal and biological chemistry and clinicians taking oncology options.* Covers both currently available drugs as well as those under development* Provides a clinical perspective on trials of new anticancer agents* Presents drug discovery examples through the use of case histories




Anticancer Drugs


Book Description

The past decades have seen major developments in the understanding of the cellular and molecular biology of cancer. Significant progress has been achieved regarding long-term survival for the patients of many cancers with the use of tamoxifen for treatment of breast cancer, treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia with imatinib, and the success of biological drugs. The transition from cytotoxic chemotherapy to targeted cancer drug discovery and development has resulted in an increasing selection of tools available to oncologists. In this Special Issue of Pharmaceuticals, we highlight the opportunities and challenges in the discovery and design of innovative cancer therapies, novel small-molecule cancer drugs and antibody–drug conjugates, with articles covering a variety of anticancer therapies and potential relevant disease states and applications. Significant efforts are being made to develop and improve cancer treatments and to translate basic research findings into clinical use, resulting in improvements in survival rates and quality of life for cancer patients. We demonstrate the possibilities and scope for future research in these areas and also highlight the challenges faced by scientists in the area of anticancer drug development leading to improved targeted treatments and better survival rates for cancer patients.




Chemistry and Pharmacology of Anticancer Drugs


Book Description

While drug therapies developed in the last 80 years have markedly improved treatment outcomes and the management of some types of cancers, the lack of effectiveness and side effects associated with the most common treatment types remain unacceptable. However, recent technological advances are leading to improved therapies based on targeting distinct biological pathways in cancer cells. Chemistry and Pharmacology of Anticancer Drugs is a comprehensive survey of all families of anticancer agents and therapeutic approaches currently in use or in advanced stages of clinical trials, including biological-based therapies. The book is unique in providing molecular structures for all anticancer agents, discussing them in terms of history of development, chemistry, mechanism of action, structure–function relationships, and pharmacology. It also provides relevant information on side effects, dosing, and formulation. The authors, renowned scientists in cancer research and drug discovery, also provide up-to-date information on the drug discovery process, including discussions of new research tools, tumor-targeting strategies, and fundamental concepts in the relatively new areas of precision medicine and chemoprevention. Chemistry and Pharmacology of Anticancer Drugs is an indispensable resource for cancer researchers, medicinal chemists and other biomedical scientists involved in the development of new anticancer therapies. Its breadth of coverage, clear explanations, and illustrations also make it suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in medicine, pharmacy, nursing, dentistry, nutrition, the biomedical sciences, and related disciplines. Key Features: Summarizes the fundamental causes of cancer, modes of treatment, and strategies for cancer drug discovery Brings together a broad spectrum of information relating to the chemistry and pharmacology of all families of anticancer agents and therapies Includes up-to-date information on cutting-edge aspects of cancer treatments such as biomarkers, pharmacogenetics, and pharmacogenomics Features new chapters on the "Evolution of Anticancer Therapies", "Antibody-Based Therapies", and "Cancer Chemoprevention"




Anticancer Drug Development Guide


Book Description

This unique volume traces the critically important pathway by which a "molecule" becomes an "anticancer agent. " The recognition following World War I that the administration of toxic chemicals such as nitrogen mustards in a controlled manner could shrink malignant tumor masses for relatively substantial periods of time gave great impetus to the search for molecules that would be lethal to specific cancer cells. Weare still actively engaged in that search today. The question is how to discover these "anticancer" molecules. Anticancer Drug Development Guide: Preclinical Screening, Clinical Trials, and Approval, Second Edition describes the evolution to the present of preclinical screening methods. The National Cancer Institute's high-throughput, in vitro disease-specific screen with 60 or more human tumor cell lines is used to search for molecules with novel mechanisms of action or activity against specific phenotypes. The Human Tumor Colony-Forming Assay (HTCA) uses fresh tumor biopsies as sources of cells that more nearly resemble the human disease. There is no doubt that the greatest successes of traditional chemotherapy have been in the leukemias and lymphomas. Since the earliest widely used in vivo drug screening models were the murine L 1210 and P388 leukemias, the community came to assume that these murine tumor models were appropriate to the discovery of "antileukemia" agents, but that other tumor models would be needed to discover drugs active against solid tumors.




New Approaches to Natural Anticancer Drugs


Book Description

This book provides an up-to-date review of recently identified natural anti-tumor compounds from various natural origins including plants, fungi, endophytic fungi and marine organisms. It also includes discussion of new areas such as biotechnology and nanoparticles. Chapters explain the challenges and developments in anti-cancer drug discovery approaches, traditional remedies for prevention and treatment of cancer, marine-derived anti-cancer compounds, and antibiotics used as anti-cancer agents, as well as different classes of terpenoids and carbohydrates, which have been the subject of discussion in this field as efficient anti-cancer candidates. This book will be a concise guide for researchers in the field of pharmaceutical sciences, students and residents in pharmacy and medicine as well as those researching phytochemistry and natural products.




Handbook of Anticancer Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics


Book Description

Leading investigators synthesize the entire laboratory and clinical process of developing anticancer drugs to create a single indispensable reference that covers all the steps from the identification of cancer-specific targets to phase III clinical trials. These expert authors provide their best guidance on a wide variety of issues, including clinical trial design, preclinical screening, and the development and validation of bioanalytic methods. The chapters on identifying agents to test in phase III trials and on trial design for the approval of new anticancer agents offer a unique roadmap for moving an agent to NDA submission.