Bacteriology & Antibiotics

Anticancer Antibiotics

Laboratory-produced drugs used to target and destroy cancerous cells. Therapeutic anticancer antibiotics have become an accepted treatment for certain types of cancer. These drugs bind specifically to primary and metastatic cancer cells to block cell growth, while limiting effects on surrounding healthy cells. Also called antitumor antibiotics, anticancer antibiotics can also be used to treat or prevent infections brought on by cancer treatments. Any anticancer drug that affects DNA synthesis and replication by inserting into DNA or by donating electrons that result in the production of highly reactive oxygen compounds (superoxide) that cause breakage of DNA strands. These antibiotics are administered almost exclusively by intravenous infusion for the treatment of lymphoma and leukemia, nephroblastoma (Wilm tumour), sarcoma, and cancers of the testicle, the breast, the thyroid, the lung, and the stomach.