Anthracyclines

Anthracyclines are a class of drugs used in cancer chemotherapy extracted from

(2) Streptomyces peucetius var. caesius.

These compounds are used to treat many cancers, including leukemias, lymphomas, breast, stomach, uterine, ovarian, bladder cancer, and lung cancers.

The anthracyclines are among the most effective anticancer treatments ever developed and are effective against more types of cancer than any other class of chemotherapeutic agents. Their main adverse effect is cardiotoxicity, which considerably limits their usefulness. Use of anthracyclines has also been shown to be significantly associated with cycle 1 severe or febrile neutropenia. Other adverse effects include vomiting.

The first anthracycline discovered was daunorubicin (trade name Daunomycin), which is produced naturally by Streptomyces peucetius, a species of actinobacteria. Doxorubicin (trade name Adriamycin) was developed shortly after, and many other related compounds have followed, although few are in clinical use.

Anthracyclines are used to treat various cancers and as of 2012 were among the most commonly used chemotherapeutic agents.Doxorubicin and its derivative, epirubicin, are used in breast cancer, childhood solid tumors, soft tissue sarcomas, and aggressive lymphomas. Daunorubicin is used to treat acute lymphoblastic or myeloblastic leukemias, and its derivative, idarubicin is used in multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, and breast cancer. Other anthracycline derivates include nemorubicin, used for treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma, pixantrone, used as a second-line treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, sabarubicin, used for non-small cell lung cancer, hormone refractory metastatic prostate cancer, and platinum- or taxane-resistant ovarian cancer, and valrubicin, which is used for the topical treatment of bladder cancer.

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