Polymer-drug conjugates: recent development in clinical oncology.
Targeted drug delivery aims to increase the therapeutic index by making more drug molecules available at the diseased sites while reducing systemic drug exposure. In this update, we provide an overview of polymer-drug conjugates that have advanced into clinical trials. These systems use synthetic water-soluble polymers as the drug carriers. The preclinical pharmacology and recent data in clinical trials with poly(l-glutamic acid)-paclitaxel (PG-TXL) are discussed. This is followed by a summary of a variety of polymeric conjugates with chemotherapeutic agents. Results from early clinical trials of these polymer-drug conjugates have demonstrated several advantages over the corresponding parent drugs, including fewer side effects, enhanced therapeutic efficacy, ease of drug administration, and improved patient compliance. Collectively, these data warrant further clinical development of polymer-drug conjugates as a new class of anticancer agents.
Li
Chun
C
Department of Experimental Diagnostic Imaging, Unit 59, The University of Texas M D Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX 77030, USA. cli@di.mdacc.tmc.edu <cli@di.mdacc.tmc.edu>
Wallace
Sidney
S
D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry*; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D011099:Polyglutamic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D004337:Drug Carriers; D011108:Polymers; D011099:Polyglutamic Acid; D017239:Paclitaxel; C509139:paclitaxel poliglumex