title: Retinoids as preventive and therapeutic anticancer agents (Part I).
abstract: Retinoids, the synthetic and natural analogs of vitamin A, frequently block the phenotypic expression of cancer in vitro; they also inhibit growth and induce differentiation in many animal and human malignant cell types. Only recently has it become possible to propose a unifying mechanism of retinoid action, which involves the protein kinase-C cascade system. This system may mediate retinoids' many diverse actions, including their effects on enzyme synthesis, membrane properties, growth factors, binding proteins, genomic and postgenomic expression, the extracellular matrix, and immunologic responses. Ongoing in vitro studies of retinoid structure-activity relationships, effects on oncogene expression, reversal of drug-resistance, and, especially, the protein kinase-C cascade system should help clarify the precise mechanism of their anticancer action. Many in vitro and in vivo assay systems are available for testing the 2000 + synthetic retinoids. These assays indicate specific drug sensitivities, which may help focus future clinical trials. In human cancer prevention, retinoids have been most effective for skin diseases, including actinic keratosis, keratoacanthoma, and basal cell carcinoma; however, nondermatologic premalignancies, such as oral leukoplakia, bronchial metaplasia, laryngeal papillomatosis, cervical dysplasia, myelodysplastic syndromes, and the urinary bladder, also respond to retinoid therapy. Significant therapeutic advances are also occurring with this class of drugs in refractory malignancies, including advanced cutaneous squamous and basal cell cancer, mycosis fungoides, and acute promyelocytic leukemia. Newer third-generation retinoids, such as the highly potent retinoidal benzoic acid derivatives, are demonstrating therapeutic indexes far higher than earlier-generation retinoids. Current in vitro testing is also demonstrating that retinoids have synergistic activity in combination with other agents (eg, biologic modifiers, hormones, and DNA synthesis inhibitors) and treatment modalities (eg, irradiation). Notwithstanding the progress already made with retinoids in human cancer, many in vitro questions remain, and clinical work is just beginning.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D002460:Cell Line / Q000187:drug effects; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D006801:Humans; D011493:Protein Kinase C / Q000378:metabolism; D012176:Retinoids / Q000172:deficiency / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D012176:Retinoids; D011493:Protein Kinase C