Carbamoyl mycophenolic acid ethylester, an oral antitumor agent

Several derivatives of mycophenolic acid (MA) were tested for their antitumor activity against leukemia L-1210 when administered orally and carbamoyl mycophenolic acid ethylester (CMAE) was selected as the most active antitumor agent in these tests. An oral administration of CMAE also inhibited the growth of Ehrlich solid carcinoma, NF sarcoma, myeloma X-5563 and sarcoma 180 in mice. In comparison with antitumor activity of MA, the improvement in activity of CMAE against leukemia L-1210 and Ehrlich solid carcinoma was indeed remarkable, CMAE seems to be less immunosuppressive than MA.