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  • Lots of Radiology/Oncology Terms
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• Cancer Drugs

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• 11C topotecan

A semisynthetic derivative of camptothecin, a cytotoxic, quinoline-based alkaloid extracted from the Asian tree Camptotheca acuminata radiolabeled with carbon 11 (11C) with antineoplastic and radiotracer properties. During the S phase of the cell cycle, topotecan inhibits topoisomerase I activity by stabilizing the cleavable complex between topoisomerase I and DNA, resulting in DNA breaks that inhibit DNA replication and trigger apoptotic cell death. Quantitation of 11C topotecan accumulated in tumor tissues by positron emission tomography (PET) may help predict responses to topotecan therapy.



• 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate

A phorbol ester with potential antineoplastic effects. Tetradecanoylphorbol acetate (TPA) induces maturation and differentiation of hematopoietic cell lines, including leukemic cells. This agent may induce gene expression and protein kinase C (PKC) activity. In addition to potential antineoplastic effects, TPA may exhibit tumor promoting activity.



• 17-dimethylaminoethylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin

An analogue of the benzoquinone antineoplastic antibiotic geldanamycin. 17-(Dimethylaminoethylamino)-17-Demethoxygeldanamycin binds to HSP90, a chaperone protein that aids in the assembly, maturation and folding of proteins. Subsequently, the function of Hsp90 is inhibited, leading to the degradation and depletion of its client proteins such as kinases and transcription factors involved with cell cycle regulation and signal transduction.



• 17-N-allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin

A benzoquinone antineoplastic antibiotic derived from the antineoplastic antibiotic geldanamycin. 17-allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin binds to and inhibits the cytosolic chaperone functions of heat shock protein 90 (HSP90). HSP90 maintains the stability and functional shape of many oncogenic signaling proteins; the inhibition of HSP90 promotes the proteasomal degradation of oncogenic signaling proteins that may be overexpressed by tumor cells.



• 18F-fluoromisonidazole

A radiofluorinated 2-nitroimidazole derivate with hypoxia-specific tracer activity. Misonidazole is reduced under hypoxic conditions and in reduced form covalently binds to macromolecules in hypoxic cells. 18F (fluorine-18) radiofluorination of misonidazole to form 18F-fluoromisonidazole allows radioisotopic imaging of reduced misonidazole bound to macromolecules in hypoxic cells.

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• 2-methoxyestradiol

An orally bioavailable estradiol metabolite with potential antineoplastic activity. 2-Methoxyestradiol inhibits angiogenesis by reducing endothelial cell proliferation and inducing endothelial cell apoptosis. This agent also inhibits tumor cell growth by binding to tubulin, resulting in antimitotic activity, and by inducing caspase activation, resulting in cell cycle arrest in the G2 phase, DNA fragmentation, and apoptosis.

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• 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine

A ring-substituted amphetamine derivative, structurally related to the hallucinogen mescaline, with entactogenic (openess- and empathy-generating), neurotoxic, and motor-stimulatory activities. Although the mechanism by which it causes its unusual entactogenic effects is largely unknown, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) produces an acute, rapid enhancement in both the release of serotonin from and the inhibition of serotonin reuptake by serotonergic nerve endings in the brain. Once within the cell, MDMA depletes stores of tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) via acute oxidative inactivation; in turn, depleted stores of TPH leave cell terminals open to damage from oxidative stress, possibly a source of MDMA neurotoxicity. This agent also induces norepinephrine, dopamine, and acetylcholine release and can act directly on a number of receptors, including alpha 2-adrenergic and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) 2A receptors. MDMA may suppress the dyskinesia associated with long-term use of L-dopamine (L-DOPA) without affecting the efficacy of L-DOPA treatment, perhaps via indirect stimulation of 5-HT 1A receptors.



• 3-AP

A synthetic heterocyclic carboxaldehyde thiosemicarbazone with potential antineoplastic activity. Triapine inhibits the enzyme ribonucleotide reductase, resulting in the inhibition of the conversion of ribonucleoside diphosphates to deoxyribonucleotides necessary for DNA synthesis. This agent has been shown to inhibit tumor growth in vitro.



• 3'-deoxy-3'-[18F]fluorothymidine

A radioconjugate consisting of a thymidine analogue radiolabeled with fluorine F 18, a positron emitting isotope. Phosphorylated by S-phase-specific thymidine kinase 1, 3'-deoxy-3'-[18F]fluorothymidine (18F-FLT) is trapped intracellularly by entering the salvage pathway of DNA synthesis without incorporation into DNA. 18F-FLT serves a marker of tumor cell proliferation for imaging with positron emission tomography (PET); as a marker of proliferation rather than metabolism, it is more specific to tumor tissue than 2-deoxy-2-[18F] fluoro-D-glucose (18F-FDG). This agent is metabolically stable, accumulates in the normal bone marrow and the liver, and does not cross the blood-brain barrier.

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• 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate

A folate-based biomodulator with potential antineoplastic activity. 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate (MTHF) stabilizes the covalent binding of the fluorouracil metabolite 5-5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine-5'-O-monophosphate (FdUMP) to its target enzyme, thymidylate synthase, which results in inhibition of thymidylate synthase, depletion of thymidine triphosphate (TTP), a necessary constituent of DNA, and tumor cell death. Unlike leucovorin, MTHF, as the active form of folate, does not require metabolic activation and may increase the chemotherapeutic effects of fluorouracil with lower toxicity.



• 5-hydroxytryptophan

An aromatic amino acid with antidepressant activity. In vivo, 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) is converted into 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT or serotonin) as well as other neurotransmitters. 5-HTP may exert its antidepressant activity via conversion to serotonin or directly by binding to serotonin (5-HT) receptors within the central nervous system (CNS). Endogenous 5-HTP is produced from the essential amino acid L-tryptophan. Exogenous therapeutic 5-HTP is isolated from the seeds of the African plant Griffonia simplicifolia.

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• 7-hydroxystaurosporine

A synthetic derivative of staurosporine with antineoplastic activity. 7-hydroxystaurosporine inhibits many phosphokinases, including the serine/threonine kinase AKT, calcium-dependent protein kinase C, and cyclin-dependent kinases. This agent arrests tumor cells in the G1/S of the cell cycle and prevents nucleotide excision repair by inhibiting the G2 checkpoint kinase chk1, resulting in apoptosis.

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• 851B gel

A topical gel containing a peptide derived from the human papillomavirus (HPV). Application of 851B gel may stimulate the host immune system to trigger a cytotoxic T-lymphocyte response to cells that express HPV.



• 852A

A synthetic Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) agonist with immunostimulating and potential antitumor activities. 852A binds to and activates TLR7, thereby stimulating plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) through the TLR7-MyD88-dependent signaling pathway. Activation of pDC results in secretion of interferon alpha, the production of proimflammatory cytokines, the upregulation of co-stimulatory molecules, and enhanced T and B-cell stimulatory responses.