cediranib and Neoplasms

Quinazoline was originally utilized as an anti-tumor treatment, and its various derivatives can be directly extracted from plants. In recent years, protein kinases (PK) have been well recognized in the development of tumor drugs. Functionally, PK serves a vital role in the apoptosis, proliferation, differentiation, migration and cell cycle of tumor cells. Due to its good physicochemical properties, quinazoline skeleton, a superior type of PK inhibitor, has been extensively used in anti-tumor drug design. An increasing number of studies on quinazoline synthesis have been reported and used by different groups to effectively develop novel derivatives. Thus, several studies have been approved for the use of quinazoline derivatives as inhibitors of other kinases, including Src and histone deacetylase. The aim of the present review was to summarize the mechanism of quinazoline compounds as PK inhibitors, their biological structure-activity relationship such as the substituted quinazoline compounds with different functional groups in the apoptotic process, and their effect on the proliferation of tumor cells. The development of novel agents based on the antitumor functions of quinazoline molecular compounds may improve the clinical outcomes of the affected population, particularly in patients with cancer.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Cell Proliferation; Humans; Neoplasms; Protein Kinase Inhibitors; Protein Kinases; Quinazolines

The recent launch onto the market of five VEGFR inhibitors indicates the therapeutic value of these agents and the importance of the research in the field of angiogenesis inhibitors for future oncologic therapy. In this Perspective we briefly report the inhibitors that are in clinical use, while we dedicate two wider sections to the compounds that are in clinical trials and to the new derivatives appearing in the literature. We especially consider the medicinal chemistry aspect of the topic and report the structure-activity relationship studies and the binding mode of some inhibitors as well as the biological data of the compounds discovered in the past 5 years.

Topics: Angiogenesis Inhibitors; Animals; Clinical Trials as Topic; Humans; Models, Molecular; Neoplasms; Pyridines; Pyrimidines; Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor; Structure-Activity Relationship

Inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF) signaling is a promising therapeutic approach that aims to stabilize the progression of solid malignancies by abrogating tumor-induced angiogenesis. This may be accomplished by inhibiting the kinase activity of VEGF receptor-2 (KDR), which has a key role in mediating VEGF-induced responses. The novel indole-ether quinazoline AZD2171 is a highly potent (IC50 < 1 nmol/L) ATP-competitive inhibitor of recombinant KDR tyrosine kinase in vitro. Concordant with this activity, in human umbilical vein endothelial cells, AZD2171 inhibited VEGF-stimulated proliferation and KDR phosphorylation with IC50 values of 0.4 and 0.5 nmol/L, respectively. In a fibroblast/endothelial cell coculture model of vessel sprouting, AZD2171 also reduced vessel area, length, and branching at subnanomolar concentrations. Once-daily oral administration of AZD2171 ablated experimental (VEGF-induced) angiogenesis in vivo and inhibited endochondral ossification in bone or corpora luteal development in ovary; physiologic processes that are highly dependent upon neovascularization. The growth of established human tumor xenografts (colon, lung, prostate, breast, and ovary) in athymic mice was inhibited dose-dependently by AZD2171, with chronic administration of 1.5 mg per kg per day producing statistically significant inhibition in all models. A histologic analysis of Calu-6 lung tumors treated with AZD2171 revealed a reduction in microvessel density within 52 hours that became progressively greater with the duration of treatment. These changes are indicative of vascular regression within tumors. Collectively, the data obtained with AZD2171 are consistent with potent inhibition of VEGF signaling, angiogenesis, neovascular survival, and tumor growth. AZD2171 is being developed clinically as a once-daily oral therapy for the treatment of cancer.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Animals; Biological Availability; Bone Development; Cell Proliferation; Corpus Luteum; Endothelial Cells; Extracellular Matrix Proteins; Female; Humans; Mice; Myosin Heavy Chains; Neoplasms; Nonmuscle Myosin Type IIB; Phosphorylation; Protein Kinase Inhibitors; Proteins; Quinazolines; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-3; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays