title: Current approaches to new drug development in cancer chemotherapy.
abstract: This review summarizes and discusses current developments of new antitumor agents, with particular reference to mechanism of action, preclinical efficacy and interest for clinical evaluation. A progress is appreciable in the study of analogues of existing agents and in the identification of new series of cytotoxic compounds with a mechanism of action somewhat similar to that of conventional cytotoxic drugs. Advances in knowledge of tumor cell biology and biochemistry offer the prospect of identifying new targets for a selective drug action. The value of this new drug discovery approach remains to be established.
authors.affiliation: Division of Experimental Oncology B, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zunino
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Capranico
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pratesi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Spinelli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents