What is an anti-cancer molecule?

10>It is a very generic term. Generally, it is considered an anti-cancer drug, a drug which interferes (somehow) with the cellular growth and proliferation. This mostly involves blocking the cell cycle, which leads to cell division, and artificially creating "damage" to the tumor cells inorder to activate cell cycle checkpoints, which arrest the progression through the cycle (by inhibiting DNA replication and mitosis). Therefore, good examples of anti-cancer drugs are all molecules which interfere with the replication machinery, such as cyclosporin or etoposide, or with the mitotic machinery, such as nocodazole and colchicine.


The problem is that these molecules are not specific and are normally given sistemically, thus affecting all replicating cells, such as the cells of the intestinal mucosa, cells of the epidermis and of the hair follicules. This is why people that undergo sessions of chemotherapy are often sick and loose their hair.