Antitumour activity of new semi-synthetic anthracyclines containing fluorotalopyranose

The authors have synthesized 7-O-(2,6-dideoxy-2-fluoro-alpha-L-talopyranosyl) adriamycinone (FT-ADM) which exhibited strong antitumour activity and weak toxicity. These characteristics of FT-ADM are partly due to the presence of a 2'-fluoro atom which strengthens the glycoside bond. FT-ADM, however, is sparingly soluble in water because of lack of the 3'-amino group of adriamycin. To increase the solubility of FT-ADM, a hydrophilic group was added at the 14-OH group. Then, the 14-hemisuccinate, 14-hemiglutarate, 14-hemiadipiate, 14-hemipimelate and 14-hemisuberate derivatives of FT-ADM were synthesized. Among them, the 14-hemipimelate derivative (FAD-104) was selected for further development because of its potent antitumour activity and weak toxicity. When drugs were injected intraperitoneally every day from day 1 to 9, FAD-104 showed an apparently stronger antitumour effect against mouse L-1210 leukaemia than adriamycin with lower toxicities. FAD-104 was also more effective than adriamycin on L-1210 using other administration schedules. A characteristic feature is that FAD-104 is effective over a very broad range, which will be advantageous for safe clinical use. FAD-104 also showed marked antitumour effect against L-1210 when it was injected intravenously either once on day 1 or three times on days 1, 5 and 9. Thus, FAD-104 may be a more potent antitumour anthracycline than adriamycin.