EL6Cytotoxic Anticancer Agents

Abstract While molecularly targeted drugs and immune checkpoint inhibitors are thriving cancer drugs, cytotoxic anticancer agents are still the basis for treatment of a lot of advanced malignancies. A combination of cytotoxic agents with an immune checkpoint inhibitor for non-small cell lung cancer is more effective than chemotherapy alone or an immune checkpoint inhibitor alone, and the value of cytotoxic agents has been reacknowledged. This presentation outlines the mechanism of action and classification of cytotoxic agents, and adverse events. That is, alkylating agents, antitumor antibiotics, platinum-containing agents, antimetabolites (fluorinated pyrimidine derivatives, cytidine derivatives, thymidine derivatives, purine antagonists, antifolates), topoisomerase inhibitors, and microtubule agonists (polymerization inhibitors and polymerization accelerators) are discussed.