Anti-cancer agents in medicinal chemistry
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Anticancer Agents Med Chem · Jan 2014
ReviewOvercoming the blood-brain barrier for chemotherapy: limitations, challenges and rising problems.
Treatment of brain tumors with chemotherapy is limited mostly because of delivery impediments related to the blood-brain barrier (BBB). For gliomas, the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor, treatment includes surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy usually administered orally or intravenously. ⋯ Therefore, transient disruption of the BBB is likely insufficient to deliver effective intratumoral concentrations of anticancer drugs. This review briefly updates current strategies for overcoming the BBB with emphasis on their limitations and challenges intrinsic to the biology of cancer cells.
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Anticancer Agents Med Chem · Jan 2014
ReviewFrom French Paradox to cancer treatment: anti-cancer activities and mechanisms of resveratrol.
Resveratrol (3, 5, 4'-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene, RVT), a stilbenoid, polyphenol phytochemical present in berries, grape, peanuts and wine. It has been suggested as a major contributor to "French Paradox" that reduces the mortality from coronary heart disease (CHD) by consuming RVT in red wine even in some of French population with a high-fat intake. With extensive research, it has been found that RVT is a versatile and pleiotropic agent, it not only possesses cardiovascular-protective benefits by its powerful antioxidant capacity, anti-inflammatory, regulating metabolism and anti-aging effects, but also has strong anti-tumor activities through inhibiting tumor cell proliferation, inducing cell apoptosis, promoting tumor cell differentiation, preventing tumor invasion and metastasis, and further moderating the host immune system to kill tumor cells. This review will focus on RVT's anti-tumor activity and tumor prevention potential including: the anti-tumor spectrum in vitro and in vivo; molecular targets and signal pathways involving RVT anti-tumor mechanisms; evidences from clinical trial for its bioavailability, dosage, toxicity and benefit in humans; and its prospective including its analog, deviations, and combinative chemotherapy.