Cancer Drug Design and Discovery

The ultimate source of information on the design of new anticancer agents, emphasising small molecules, this newest work covers recent notable successes resulting from the human genome and cancer genomics projects. These advances have provided information on targets involved in specific cancers that are leading to effective medicines for at least some of the common solid tumours. Unique sections explain the basic underlying principles of cancer drug development and provide a practical introduction to modern methods of drug design. Appealing to a broad audience, this is an excellent reference for translational researchers interested in cancer biology and medicine as well as students in pharmacy, pharmacology, or medicinal and biological chemistry, and clinicians taking oncology options.

* Covers both currently available drugs as well as those under development
* Provides a clinical perspective on trials of new anticancer agents
* Presents drug discovery examples through the use of case histories

Section I. Basic Principles
1. Modern cancer drug discovery: Integrating targets, technologies and treatments
2. Preclinical pharmacology and in vivo models
3. Clinical trial designs for more rapid proof-of-principle and approval

Section II. Methodology
4. Structural biology and anticancer drug design
5. Natural product chemistry and cancer drug discovery
6. Pharmacokinetics & ADME optimization in drug discovery

Section III. Drugs in the clinic and laboratory
7. Temozolomide: from cytotoxic to molecularly-targeted agent
8. Camptothecins for drug design, cancer cell death and gene targeting
9. Targeting thymidylate synthase by antifolate drugs for the treatment of cancer

Section IV. New Agents
10. Targeting inactive kinases: structure as a foundation for cancer drug discovery
11. Cell cycle inhibitors in cancer: current status and future directions
12. Inhibition of DNA repair as a therapeutic target
13. Heat shock protein-90 inhibitors: targeting the cancer chaperone for combinatorial blockade of oncogenic pathways
14. Heat shock protein-90-directed therapeutics and target validation
15. Inhibitors of tumour angiogenesis
16. The biology and oncology of RAF-ERK signalling P53 as a therapeutic target

Section V. The reality of cancer drugs in the clinic
17. Cancer drug resistance
18. Failure Modes in Anticancer Drug Discovery and Development