Table 2.

Chemotherapeutic drugs.

Alkylating Agents	Drugs	Mechanism of Anti-Tumor or Action
Nitrogen mustards:	busulfan, chlorambucil, melplatin	Proliferation block by creating inter- or intra-strand cross links in DNA, or
Platinum based:	cisplatin, carboplatin, oxalplatin	causing DNA base mispair, thereby
Qxazaphosphorines:	cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide	preventing strand separation during cell cycle progression
Hydrazine
Carmustine
Antimetabolites
Purine analogs:	6-mercaptopurine, azathioprine, cladribine	Proliferation or cell cycle block by:
Purine antagonists:	fludarabine	interference with biosynthetic pathways,
Pyrimidine antagonists:	cytarabine, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), gemcitabine, capecitabine	disturbance of DNA/RNA formation,
Antifolates	methothrexate, pemetrexed, pralatrexate	causing DNA strand breaks, and
Inhibitors of ribonucleotide reductase	hydroxyurea	Incorporation of false analogues. These events ultimately can trigger apoptosis.
Mitotic Spindle Poisons (Mitosis Poisons)
Taxans:	docetaxel, paclitaxel, cabazitaxel	Preventing depolymerization of mitotic spindle by stabilizing GDP-bound tubulin in microtubule.
Vinca alkaloids:	vincristine, vinblastine, vinorelbine, vindesine, vinflunine	Preventing mitotic spindle formation by inhibition of tubulin polymerization.
Others
Antibiotics:	bleomycin, actinomycin D, anthracyclines	Intercalates into DNA stopping transcription.
Proteasome inhibitors	bortezomib	Apoptotic cell death.
Tyrosine kinase inhibitors:	imatinib, erlotinib	Affecting multiple signaling pathways.
Enzymes	l-asparaginase	Deregulates normal metabolism.
Topoisomerase I; inhibitors:	irinotecan, topotecan	DNA strand breaks during replication and
Topoisomerase II; inhibitors:	etoposide, anthracyclines: doxorubicin,	causing cell cycle block, and indirectly apoptosis.