title: Oxidative stress and therapeutic opportunities: focus on the Ewing's sarcoma family of tumors.
abstract: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are highly reactive by-products of energy production that can have detrimental as well as beneficial effects. Unchecked, high levels of ROS result in an imbalance of cellular redox state and oxidative stress. High levels of ROS have been detected in most cancers, where they promote tumor development and progression. Many anticancer agents work by further increasing cellular levels of ROS, to overcome the antioxidant detoxification capacity of the cancer cell and induce cell death. However, adaptation of the level of cellular antioxidants can lead to drug resistance. The challenge for the design of effective cancer therapeutics exploiting oxidative stress is to tip the cellular redox balance to induce ROS-dependent cell death but without increasing the antioxidant activity of the cancer cell or inducing toxicity in normal cells.
authors.affiliation: Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine, St James's University Hospital, Beckett Street, Leeds LS9 7TF, UK.
authors.forename: Danielle G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Tapiwanashe
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Magwere
authors.forename: Susan A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Burchill
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism*; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism; D016923:Cell Death; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism; D016877:Oxidants / Q000378:metabolism; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism*; D012512:Sarcoma, Ewing / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000975:Antioxidants; D016877:Oxidants; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species