The use of natural products in colorectal cancer drug discovery.
BACKGROUND
Natural products (NPs) are evolutionarily designed and contain more complex and challenging structures than synthetic compounds. Since the 1980s, the pharmaceutical industry has gradually shifted to a strategy of developing targeted agents by screening libraries of synthetic compounds. However, NPs have recently received renewed focus as a rich repository for drug discovery. Irinotecan was developed as a derivative of camptothecin and was applied in standard regimens for metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) worldwide. Additionally, polysaccharide K is approved for CRC in Japan and Taiwan in combination with cytotoxic agents. However, after the approval of irinotecan in 1996, no anti-cancer agents derived from NPs have been approved for CRC.


METHODS
This review discusses NPs that are currently under investigation for the treatment of CRC. In addition, other NPs derived as purified ingredients and crude extracts are listed and also discussed.


CONCLUSIONS
The use of NPs for the discovery of anti-cancer agents has not been fully investigated. New technologies that are currently applied for synthetic compounds may be utilized for anti-cancer drug discovery including NPs for CRC.
Miyagi Cancer Center, Department of Surgery , 47-1 Nodayama, Natori 981-1293 , Japan +81 22 384 3151 ; +81 22 381 1168 ; k-miura@surg1.med.tohoku.ac.jp.
Koh
K
Miura
Masayuki
M
Satoh
Makoto
M
Kinouchi
Kuniharu
K
Yamamoto
Yasuhiro
Y
Hasegawa
Yoichiro
Y
Kakugawa
Masaaki
M
Kawai
Kiyoshi
K
Uchimi
Hiroki
H
Aizawa
Shinobu
S
Ohnuma
Taiki
T
Kajiwara
Hiroto
H
Sakurai
Tsuneaki
T
Fujiya
D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001688:Biological Products / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D015195:Drug Design; D055808:Drug Discovery / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D001688:Biological Products
anti-cancer agent; cancer prevention; colorectal cancer; drug discovery; natural products