BLEOMYCIN ANTIBIOTICS AND THEIR ROLE IN CANCER-CHEMOTHERAPY

The bleomycins are a group of glycopeptide anticancer cytotoxic agents which have been used in the clinical treatment of several human malig nancies as single or combination chemotherapy for over two decades. Ho wever, the risk of dose-dependent pulmonary toxicity, which ultimately results in pulmonary fibrosis, limits the scale of application. Meanw hile, the unique mechanism of the antitumour effects of bleomycins has also attracted considerable interest from biologists. Extensive studi es at the molecular level have provided a guide to attempts to obviate the pulmonary toxicity. Recent progress made in the areas of drug del ivery, electropermeabilisation and conjugate synthesis has provided va luable additional information to improve bleomycin chemotherapy. The p atents and publications discussed in this review are selected from tho se covering the period from 1992 to date based on a Chemical Abstracts search.