Razoxane

Abstract

In Chapter 2, preclinical and clinical data are given for razoxane, the older of the two drugs. The various modes of action of razoxane are briefly summarized, e.g. the block of the cell cycle in the G2/M phase, the antimetastatic and antiinvasive activity, the ability to normalize pathological tumor blood vessels, the inhibition of topoisomerase II α, and the metal chelating activity. These activites are associated with a marked radiosensitization, suppression of remote metastases in malignant tumors, and non-specific tissue protection. The clinical part deals with studies and results in malignant tumors as well as in non-malignant diseases such as psoriasis and Crohn’s disease. The clinical studies of malignant tumors range from investigations of the cytotoxic and cytostatic activity of razoxane in leukemias, lymphomas and solid tumors via its radiosensitizing efficacy in sarcomas and colorectal carcinomas to the proof of an impressive anti-metastatic activity escpecially if razoxane is combined with tubulin affinic drugs. The latter drug combination together with radiotherapy led to unrivalled clinical results in soft tissue sarcomas. A detailed analysis of the toxicity may be found at the end of the section on malignant tumors. The results of the treatment of non-malignant diseases are likewise impressive. Up to now they found limited interest and could therefore be of special interest.