Other Drugs
Taxol
Taxol (Paclitaxel) is a chemotherapy medication used to treat a number of types of cancer. This includes ovarian cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, Kaposi sarcoma, cervical cancer, and pancreatic cancer. It works by interference with the normal function of microtubules during cell division. Paclitaxel stabilizes the microtubule polymer and protects it from disassembly. Chromosomes are thus unable to achieve a metaphase spindle configuration. This blocks the progression of mitosis and prolonged activation of the mitotic checkpoint triggers apoptosis or reversion to the G-phase of the cell cycle without cell division.
Vumon
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Rumon (Teniposide) is a chemotherapeutic medication used in the treatment of childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia , Hodgkin's lymphoma, certain brain tumours, and other types of cancer. It slows the growth of cancer cells in the body. Teniposide causes dose dependent single and double stranded breaks in DNA and DNA-protein cross-links. The substance has been found to act as an inhibitor of topoisomerase II (an enzyme that aids in DNA unwinding), since it does not intercalate into DNA or bind strongly to DNA.
Adrucil
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Adrucil (Fluorouracil) is a medication used to treat cancer. By injection into a vein it is used for colon cancer, esophageal cancer, stomach cancer, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, and cervical cancer. How it works is not entirely clear but believed to involve blocking the action of thymidylate synthase and thus stopping the production of DNA. Fluorouracilacts acts as a thymidylate synthase (TS) inhibitor. Interrupting the action of this enzyme blocks synthesis of the pyrimidine thymidine, which is a nucleoside required for DNA replication, so rapidly dividing cancerous cells undergo cell death via thymineless death.
Bleomycin
Bleomycin is a medication used to treat cancer. This includes Hodgkin's lymphoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, testicular cancer, ovarian cancer, and cervical cancer among others. It is believed to primarily work by preventing the making of DNABleomycin acts by induction of DNA strand breaks. Some studies suggest bleomycin also inhibits incorporation of thymidine into DNA strands. DNA cleavage by bleomycin depends on oxygen and metal ions, at least in vitro. The exact mechanism of DNA strand scission is unresolved, but it has been suggested that bleomycin chelates metal ions (primarily iron), producing a pseudoenzyme that reacts with oxygen to produce superoxide and hydroxide free radicals that cleave DNA.
Epirubicin
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Epirubicin is an anthracycline drug used for chemotherapy. It can be used in combination with other medications to treat breast cancer in patients who have had surgery to remove the tumor. .
Similarly to other anthracyclines, epirubicin acts by intercalating DNA strands. Intercalation results in complex formation which inhibits DNA and RNA synthesis. It also triggers DNA cleavage by topoisomerase II, resulting in mechanisms that lead to cell death. Binding to cell membranes and plasma proteins may be involved in the compound's cytotoxic effects. Epirubicin also generates free radicals that cause cell and DNA damage.