Potential and promising anticancer drugs from adenosine and its analogs

Shuli Man1, Yingying Lu1, Lijuan Yin1

  • 1State Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, Key Laboratory of Industrial Microbiology, Ministry of Education, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Industry Microbiology, National and Local United Engineering Lab of Metabolic Control Fermentation Technology, China International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Food Nutrition/Safety and Medicinal Chemistry, College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin 300457, China.

Drug Discovery Today
|February 27, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Adenosine and its analogs show promise in cancer treatment. This review details their anticancer mechanisms and structure-activity relationships, highlighting potential new drug candidates for cancer therapy.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Pharmacology
  • Medicinal Chemistry

Background:

  • Adenosine demonstrates significant efficacy in cancer treatment.
  • Several adenosine analogs are already marketed for anticancer applications.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the anticancer effects of adenosine and its analogs from clinical and preclinical studies.
  • To elucidate the anticancer mechanisms of these compounds.
  • To analyze structure-activity relationships (SAR) of adenosine analogs for drug development.

Main Methods:

  • Comprehensive literature review of clinical trials and preclinical studies.
  • Analysis of published data on adenosine and its analogs' anticancer activities.
  • Structure-activity relationship (SAR) analysis.

Main Results:

  • Adenosine and its analogs exhibit diverse anticancer effects.
  • Key anticancer mechanisms have been identified.
  • SAR analysis reveals correlations between molecular structure and anticancer activity.

Conclusions:

  • Adenosine and its analogs are important in cancer therapy.
  • Further research into novel adenosine analogs is warranted.
  • This review provides a foundation for developing new anticancer drugs based on adenosine scaffolds.

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