Medicinal Chemistry of Anticancer Drugs (eBook)

Medicinal Chemistry of Anticancer Drugs, Second Edition, provides an updated treatment from the point of view of medicinal chemistry and drug design, focusing on the mechanism of action of antitumor drugs from the molecular level, and on the relationship between chemical structure and chemical and biochemical reactivity of antitumor agents.

Antitumor chemotherapy is a very active field of research, and a huge amount of information on the topic is generated every year. Cytotoxic chemotherapy is gradually being supplemented by a new generation of drugs that recognize specific targets on the surface or inside cancer cells, and resistance to antitumor drugs continues to be investigated. While these therapies are in their infancy, they hold promise of more effective therapies with fewer side effects.

Although many books are available that deal with clinical aspects of cancer chemotherapy, this book provides a sorely needed update from the point of view of medicinal chemistry and drug design.

• Presents information in a clear and concise way using a large number of figures
• Historical background provides insights on how the process of drug discovery in the anticancer field has evolved
• Extensive references to primary literature

Mª del Carmen Avendaño López received her doctoral degree in Pharmacy at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) in 1970. In 1986, she became Full Professor of Organic Chemistry at the Department of Organic and Pharmaceutical Chemistry of this university, being responsible for one of its research groups. Between 1993 and 2009, she was a member of the Scientific Advising Committee for the Profarma Program, organized by the Spanish Ministry for Industry to incentivize research activities at the pharmaceutical industry. She was appointed Vice-rector in charge of Postgraduate Degrees at the International University 'Menéndez y Pelayo” in 2005-2007. She participated in the development of the Spanish Society for Therapeutical Chemistry and has also been a member of several scientific international societies and assessment committees. Since 1999, she is a Fellow of the Spanish National Royal Academy of Pharmacy where she is in charge of all activities related to Medicinal Chemistry, with particular focus on the relevance of chemistry in drug discovery and development. She has co-authored several chapters in periodical series and encyclopedias, including 'Comprehensive Heterocyclic Chemistry” and 'Science of Synthesis”, and has edited and co-authored several Medicinal Chemistry textbooks, most notably 'Introducción a la Química Farmacéutica”, published by McGraw-Hill Interamericana in 1993 and 2001. In 2008, she co-authored with Dr. Menéndez the first edition of 'Medicinal Chemistry of Anticancer Drugs' for Elsevier. Her research activities, documented in about 200 publications and some patents in collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry, have dealt with the development of synthetic methodologies to obtain biologically active molecules, with particular focus on antitumor natural compounds.

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Medicinal Chemistry of Anticancer Drugs, Second Edition, provides an updated treatment from the point of view of medicinal chemistry and drug design, focusing on the mechanism of action of antitumor drugs from the molecular level, and on the relationship between chemical structure and chemical and biochemical reactivity of antitumor agents. Antitumor chemotherapy is a very active field of research, and a huge amount of information on the topic is generated every year. Cytotoxic chemotherapy is gradually being supplemented by a new generation of drugs that recognize specific targets on the surface or inside cancer cells, and resistance to antitumor drugs continues to be investigated. While these therapies are in their infancy, they hold promise of more effective therapies with fewer side effects. Although many books are available that deal with clinical aspects of cancer chemotherapy, this book provides a sorely needed update from the point of view of medicinal chemistry and drug design. Presents information in a clear and concise way using a large number of figures Historical background provides insights on how the process of drug discovery in the anticancer field has evolved Extensive references to primary literature