Table 2.

Cytotoxic chemotherapy groups active in ovarian cancer and their mechanism of action (Dunton 1997; Piccart et al. 2001)

Group	Action and example
Anti-metabolite drugs	These interfere with DNA and RNA synthesis e.g., 5-fluorouracil
Anti-tumour antibiotics including topoisomerase II	These inhibit DNA and RNA synthesis leading to cell death such as doxorubicin
Plant-based compounds	These are natural products of plant alkaloids that can inhibit mitosis or enzymes, thereby preventing protein synthesis necessary for cell like etoposide and taxanes
Alkylating agents	These interfere with DNA thus prevent the cancer cells growth
Platinum-based agents	are the most effective chemotherapy for ovarian cancer on whole, showing high response rates and long survival for advanced ovarian cancer patients such as cisplatin and carboplatin