IMMUNE-PHARMACOLOGY-PART-VII-ANTICANCER DRUGS

NATURAL PRODUCTS

Some naturally occurring drugs are successfully used to treat various cancer diseases. They are described in this post.

A.Vinca alkaloids:-

1.Vinblastine, 2.  Vincristine

These alkaloids act by binding tubulin and prevent the assembly of microtubules. This prevents the formation of the mitotic spindle and arrests the cell division at metaphase.

Clinical Use:-

a)Vinblastine:- 

1.Hodkin's Disease

2.Non-Hodkin's lymphoma

3.Testicular carcinoma (Recipe:-Vinblastine+Blepmycin+Cisplatin)

b)Vincristine:-

1.Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia

2.Neuroblastoma

3.Wilm's Tumor(Kidney Cancer)

4.Rhabdomyosarcoma

5.Hodkin's Disease (one of the components in MOPP recipe)

6.Non-Hodkin's Lymphomas

7.Childhood Lymphatic Leukemias  

8.Ewing's sarcoma(Long bone cancer usually occur in legs) 

Route of Administration:-

Intravenously

Resistance:-

Resistant tumor cells are often found to have increased levels of P-Glycoprotein, a membrane transport pump that causes the efflux of vinblastine and vincristine.

Side effects:-

1. Vinblastine causes more severe bone marrow suppression than does vincristine

2. Vincristine causes a peripheral neuropathy

3. Both drugs cause Phlebitis or Cellulitis

B.Epiphodophyllotoxins:-

a)Etoposide:-

It is acting by inhibiting the functions of DNA topoisomerase-II-DNA complex which damages the DNA strands and thereby kills the cell.

Uses:-

1.Testicular cancer

2.Small cell lung carcinoma

3.Kaposi's sarcoma

4.Non-Hodkin's Lymphoma

Side effects:-

1.Nausea and Vomiting

2.Alopecia

3. Bone marrow suppression leads to leucopenia, thrombocytopenia

b)Teniposide:-

Similar action to Etoposide

Uses and toxicities also same as above

C.Paclitaxel:-

It is a naturally occurring drug extracted from the bark of Pacific yew(Taxus bravifolia)

Its mechanism of action is bound to tubulin and stimulate the formation of microtubules in bundles and prevent them to disarray and thus arrest cell divisions.

Uses:-

Ovarian and breast carcinoma

Side effects:-

1.Bone marrow suppression

2.Nausea and Vomiting

3.Arthralgias

4.Peripheral neuropathy.

Next Post:-Anticancer Antibiotics - will continue...