24. An Introduction to Anticancer Drugs

Ian Mullaney

School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA6150, Australia.

Phone +61 8 93601236 Fax +61 8 93601240 Email i.mullaney@murdoch.edu.au

Reviewed by Elizabeth Davis, Monash University

Key words: anti-cancer drugs, alkylating agents, cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide, cytotoxic antibodies, daunorubicin, doxorubicin, antimetabolites, methotrexate, 6-mercaptopuring, 6-thioguanine, 5-fluorourcil, capecitabine, cytarabine, gemcitabine, microtubule inhibitors, vincristine, vinblastine, paclitaxel, docetaxol, monoclonal antibodies, rituximab, trastuzumab, beviacizumab, alemtuzumab, panituxumab, ibritumomab tiuxetan, steroid hormones and their antagonists, anastrozole, exemestane, letrozole, tamoxifen, leuprolide, goserelin, flutamide, bicalutamide, prednisolone, cisplatin, carboplatin, oxaliplatin

Contents

24. An introduction to anticancer drugs

24.1 Introduction

24.2 The rationale behind anticancer drug therapy

24.3 Drugs used in cancer

24.3.1 Alkylating agents

24.3.2 Cytotoxic antibiotics

24.3.3 Antimetabolites

24.3.4 Microtubule inhibitors

24.3.5 Monoclonal antibodies

24.3.6 Steroid hormones and their antagonists

24.3.7 Other treatments