Drugs That Target or Use DNA or RNA

Some drugs target or use DNA or RNA. One of the most important is called either adriamycin or doxorubicin. Another, mitomycin is activated in liver cells and adds an alkyl group to bases, causing DNA to cross-link, which kills the cancer cells. Another alkylating agent is Ifosfamide, which is used to treat testicular cancer, breast cancer, lymphoma, testicular cancer, cervical cancer, bone cancer, soft tissue sarcoma, osteogenic sarcoma, and ovarian cancer [1]. Carboplatin (Paraplatin®) is a chemotherapeutic agent for treating cancer. Bleomycin (Blenoxane®) is a member of a family of glycopeptide antibiotics produced by Streptomyces verticillus. It damages deoxyribose in DNA, causing the strand to break. It is used to treat testicular cancer, along with head and neck cancer. There are also antimetabolites and nucleosides that are FDA-approved anti-cancer agents. They include 5-azacytidine, 5-fluorouracil, 6- mercaptopurine, allopurinol, calcium leucovorin, capecitabine, cladribine, clofarabine, cytarabine, decitabine, “floxuridine, fludarabine, gemcitabine, hydroxyurea, methotrexate, nelarabine, pemetrexed, pentostatin and thioguanine” [1]. Vitravene is an antisense drug that binds to mRNA that is produced by a gene coded by the cytomegalovirus (CMV), which causes CMV retinitis. DNA can also be used as a drug in gene therapy.

Keywords: DNA, RNA, Adriamycin, mitomycin, ifosfamide, carboplatin, bleomycin, antimetabolites, anti-cancer agents.