Downloaded by 80.82.77.83 on June 4, 2018 | https://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: August 24, 2001 | doi: 10.1021/bk-2001-0796.pr001
Preface Cancer is a major health concern worldwide with an estimated six million new cases per year. In the United States alone, it is second only to heart disease as a cause of death, with lung cancer and breast cancer as the most devastating malignancies. The threat posed by cancer was recognized in 1971, with the legislation of the National Cancer Act, which increased research funding and which helped develop several national research centers. Considerable progress has been made since then to understand the mechanism of the disease and to control it, both with prevention and therapy. However, at the beginning of the 21st century, cancer is still a very difficult disease to treat and it is far from conquered. Accordingly, cancer chemotherapy will continue to be an extremely important field of medical research in the new century. The purpose of this American Chemical Society (ACS) Symposium Series book is to summarize the recent advances in the development of new anticancer agents after the introduction into clinical practice of paclitaxel (Taxol®), which captured tremendous attention in the 1990s and which has become arguably the most important drug in cancer chemotherapy presently. However, all anticancer drugs developed to date have substantial side effects and weakness against drug-resistant tumors. Therefore, at the beginning of the 21st century, it is very important for us to consolidate various ongoing approaches and to explore all possible ways to combat cancer. It is clearly anticipated that chemistry will continue to play a key role in the development of next generation anticancer agents in the new century. In fact, the ACS held a symposium on paclitaxel in 1992, just before the drug was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and three ACS divisions (Organic Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, and Chemical Health and Safety) held symposia on taxane anticancer agents in 1994. The ACS Symposium Series 583, Taxane Anticancer Agents: Basic Science and Current Status was published in 1995 based on the latter symposia and additional chapters. At the end of the 20th Century, Ojima, the managing editor of this book, organized the ACS Symposium on the "New Prospects in Anticancer Agents for the 21st Century" sponsored by the ACS Divisions of Organic Chemistry and Medicinal Chemistry as a part of the Society's "Chemistry in the 21st Century Celebration" program at its National Meeting in San Francisco, California, March 2000. Ojima gratefully acknowledges generous support from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novartis Pharma AG, Serale/Monsanto, Merck Company, Lily Research Lab., Indena, SpA, Schering-Plough Research Institute, and ACS Chemistry in the 21st Century Celebration fund. Although the symposium contributions covered many emerging cutting-edge approaches in cancer chemotherapy, the editors have expanded the scope of this book by incorporating several chapters from research laboratories that were not represented at the symposium. This expanded scope, the editors believe, makes this book even more attractive and informative. This book contains 19 chapters, covering a wide range of topics including the National xi Ojima et al.; Anticancer Agents ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2001.
Downloaded by 80.82.77.83 on June 4, 2018 | https://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: August 24, 2001 | doi: 10.1021/bk-2001-0796.pr001
Cancer Institute's new paradigms for cancer drug discovery and development; various "statins" from marine natural products; new generation taxoids and other microtubule-interacting anticancer agents (e.g., epothilones, discodermolide, eleutherobin, sarcodictyins, and cryptophycins); the potentially tumor specific mechanism-based agents (e.g., farnesyl transferase inhibitors); inhibitors of signaling pathway (e.g., EGF receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors); antiangiogenesis agents including matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitors; VEGF inhibitors; Abl tyrosine kinase inhibitors that exhibit promise against chronic myeloid leukemia (CML); antitumor vaccines; and tumor activated prodrugs (TAPs) combining monoclonal antibody and cytotoxic agents. Accordingly, this book describes various innovative approaches to the development of new generation anticancer drugs, which are aiming to not only increase potency against drug-resistant tumors, but also are trying to gain tumor specificity or using non-cytotoxic agents to reduce undesirable side effects. Tumor specificity and reduction of undesirable side effects are essential to improve the quality of life for cancer patients. The research on anticancer agents requires quite an interdisciplinary endeavor that brings together various disciplines such as synthetic organic, bioorganic, medicinal, and biological chemistry, chemical biology, pharmacology, biochemistry, and oncology. A l l these research communities will greatly benefit from this book. With the publication of this book, the editors and authors wish to further encourage and stimulate ongoing and new interdisciplinary collaborative research activities on the development of highly effective anticancer agents and therapies to combat this very difficult and deadly disease. We dedicate this book to people who live with and fight cancer. Iwao Ojima Department of Chemistry State University of New York at Stony Brook Stony Brook, NY 11794-3400 Gregory D. Vite Oncology Chemistry Department Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute P.O. Box 4000 Princeton, NJ 08543-4000 Karl-Heinz Altmann Novartis Pharma AG TA Oncology, Chemistry Research, K-136.4.21 CH4002 Basel SWITZERLAND
xii Ojima et al.; Anticancer Agents ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2001.
