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In our search for potential anticancer agents, a series of 8- and 9-phenylamino-3,4-tetrahydro-phenanthridine-1,7,10(2H)-triones with substituent variations at 6-, 8- and 9-positions were prepared using a highly efficient sequence involving: a) solar photoacylation reactions of benzoquinone with arylaldehydes, b) one-pot procedure for the synthesis of 3,4-dihydrophenanthridine-1,7,10(2H)-trione intermediates from acylhydroquinones and c) highly regiocontrolled acid-induced amination reaction of phenanthridinequinones with phenylamines. The members of this series were in vitro evaluated using the MTT colorimetric method against one normal cell line and three human cancer cell lines. The SAR analysis indicates that the location of nitrogen substituents on the quinone nucleus, the presence of methyl, phenyl, furyl and thienyl groups at the 6-position and the aromatization of the angular cycloaliphatic ring of the phenylamino-3,4-tetrahydrophenanthridine-1,7,10(2H)-trione pharmacophore play key roles in the antitumor activity., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Current issues in cancer research involve searching for novel anticancer compounds that can be used to regulate the cell cycle and lead to more effective treatments of tumors. In this study, it was hypothesized that possessing a cyclic alkaloid similar to harmine, arborescidines can disrupt the proliferative state of cancer cells and block the activity of topoisomerases. The antiproliferative activity of arborescidines A-C and their derivatives was evaluated in vitro against four human tumor cell lines: gastric adenocarcinoma, lung cancer, bladder carcinoma and leukemia. Assuming the mechanism of action by topoisomerase II binding model, the compounds possessing the greatest activity had nonpolar side-chain into hydrophobic binding region on the DNA/topo II complex.

A variety of 7-aminoisoquinoline-5,8-quinone derivatives were prepared from 2,5-dihydroxyacetophenone, methyl aminocrotonate, and the corresponding amines, through a highly efficient three-step sequence. The members of this series were tested on normal human fibroblasts and on a panel of three human cancer cell lines and their redox properties were determined by cyclic voltammetry in acetonitrile. Both the cytotoxicity and antitumor activity of 7-phenylaminoisoquinoline-5,8-quinone derivatives showed correlation with their half wave potentials and lipophilicities.

In the search for new potentially anticancer drugs, isoquinolinequinone-containing polycyclic compounds have been designed and synthesized through highly regiocontrolled cycloaddition reactions of methyl 1,3-dimethyl-5,8-dioxo-5,8-dihydroisoquinoline-4-carboxylate with polarized 1,3-dienes and a thiazole-o-quinodimethane. The new N-heterocyclic quinones were tested on normal human fibroblasts and four distinct human cancer cell lines. Two of the evaluated compounds displayed significant in vitro activity (IC50: 0.44-5.9 microM) comparable to that of the reference drug etoposide.

Purpose: We sought to identify gene expression markers that predict the likelihood of chemotherapy response. We also tested whether chemotherapy response is correlated with the 21-gene Recurrence Score assay that quantifies recurrence risk., Methods: Patients with locally advanced breast cancer received neoadjuvant paclitaxel and doxorubicin. RNA was extracted from the pretreatment formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded core biopsies. The expression of 384 genes was quantified using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and correlated with pathologic complete response (pCR). The performance of genes predicting for pCR was tested in patients from an independent neoadjuvant study where gene expression was obtained using DNA microarrays., Results: Of 89 assessable patients (mean age, 49.9 years; mean tumor size, 6.4 cm), 11 (12%) had a pCR. Eighty-six genes correlated with pCR (unadjusted P < .05); pCR was more likely with higher expression of proliferation-related genes and immune-related genes, and with lower expression of estrogen receptor (ER) -related genes. In 82 independent patients treated with neoadjuvant paclitaxel and doxorubicin, DNA microarray data were available for 79 of the 86 genes. In univariate analysis, 24 genes correlated with pCR with P < .05 (false discovery, four genes) and 32 genes showed correlation with P < .1 (false discovery, eight genes). The Recurrence Score was positively associated with the likelihood of pCR (P = .005), suggesting that the patients who are at greatest recurrence risk are more likely to have chemotherapy benefit., Conclusion: Quantitative expression of ER-related genes, proliferation genes, and immune-related genes are strong predictors of pCR in women with locally advanced breast cancer receiving neoadjuvant anthracyclines and paclitaxel.