Small-molecule, tubulin-binding compounds as vascular targeting agents

Abstract

Vascular targeting or vascular damaging agents are directed toward established blood vessels, making them different from antiangiogenic agents, which inhibit one or more of the processes of neo-vascularisation. This emerging area of cancer drug discovery is currently being clinically tested and there is growing activity directed toward the identification of new antivascular agents. This review summarises key aspects of recent patents and patent applications referring to cancer chemotherapy and cancer drug discovery that involve the targeting or destruction of established vasculature. This review focuses on applications that have been published between January 2000 and December 2001, with earlier, selected references included. Small molecule approaches, such as analogues of combretastatin A-4 (CA4) and colchicine, as well as other novel chemotypes, are the major focus of this review.

• antimitotic agents
• antivascular
• cancer
• colchicine
• colchinol
• combretastatin A-4
• combretastatins
• dioxostatin
• nocodazole
• phenstatin
• tubulin binding
• vascular damaging
• vascular destruction
• vascular targeting
• ZD-6126