Potent inducers of terminal differentiation and methods of use thereof

Abstract

The present invention provides the compound having the structure: ##STR1## wherein each of R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are independently the same as or different from each other; when R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are the same, each is a substituted or unsubstituted arylamino, cycloalkylamino, pyridineamino, piperidino, 9-purine-6-amine, or thiozoleamino group; when R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are different, R.sub.1 =R.sub.3 --N--R.sub.4, wherein each of R.sub.3 and R.sub.4 are independently the same as or different from each other and are a hydrogen atom, a hydroxyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted, branched or unbranched alkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, alkyloxy, aryloxy, arylalkyloxy, or pyridine group, or R.sub.3 and R.sub.4 bond together to form a piperidine group and R.sub.2 is a hydroxylamino, hydroxyl, amino, alkylamino, dialkylamino or alkyloxy group; and n is an integer from about 4 to about 8. The present invention also provides a method of selectively inducing terminal differentiation of neoplastic cells and thereby inhibiting proliferation of such cells. Moreover, the present invention provides a method of treating a patient having a tumor characterized by proliferation of neoplastic cells. Lastly, the present invention provides a pharmaceutical composition and a therapeutically acceptable amount of the compound above.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThroughout this application various publications are referenced by arabic numerals within parentheses. Full citations for these publications may be found at the end of the specification immediately preceding the claims. The disclosures of these publications in their entireties are hereby incorporated by reference into this application in order to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains.Cancer is a disorder in which a population of cells has become, in varying degrees, unresponsive to the control mechanisms which normally govern proliferation and differentiation. For many years there have been two principal strategies for chemotherapeutic treatment of cancer: a) blocking hormone-dependent tumor cell proliferation by interference with the production of peripheral action of sex hormones; and b) killing cancer cells directly by exposing them to cytotoxic substances, which injure both neoplastic and normal cell populations.Rela...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention also provides a method of treating a patient having a tumor characterized by proliferation of neoplastic cells which comprises administering to the patient an effective amount of any of the compounds above, effective to selectively induce terminal differentiation of such neoplastic cells and thereby inhibit their proliferation.

Problems solved by technology

However, these phase I clinical trials also have demonstrated that the potential efficacy of HMBA is limited, in part, by dose-related toxicity which prevents achieving optimal blood levels and by the need for intravenous administration of large quantities of the agent, over prolonged periods.

As a class, however, it has been found that the symmetrical dimers such as HMBA and related compounds are not the best cytodifferentiating agents.

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