Antitumor activity of chemical modified natural compounds

Search of new activity substances starting from chemotherapeutic agents, continuously appears in international literature. Perhaps this search has been done more frequently in the field of antitumor chemotherapy on account of the unsuccess in saving advanced stage patients. The new point in this matter during the last decade was computer aid in planning more rational drugs. In near future "the accessibility of super computers and emergence of computer net systems, will open new avenues to rational drug design" (Portoghese, P. S., J. Med. Chem. 1989, 32, 1). Unknown pharmacological active compounds synthetized by plants can be found even without this electronic devices, as traditional medicine has pointed out in many countries, and give rise to a new drug. These compounds used as found in nature or after chemical modifications have produced successful experimental medicaments as FAA, "flavone acetic acid" with good results as inhibitors of slow growing animal tumors currently in preclinical evaluation for human treatment. In this lecture some international contributions in the field of chemical modified compounds as antineoplastic drugs will be examined, particularly those done by Brazilian researches.