Table I.
Antimetabolite drugs for the treatment of various types of cancer.
| Drug name | Targets | Therapeutic uses | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Methotrexate | DHFR | Used to treat multiple cancers | (131) |
| Pemetrexed | DHFR, TYMS and SHMT | Used to treat multiple cancers, especially non-small cell lung carcinoma and pleural mesothelioma | (131) |
| Pralatrexate | DHFR | Peripheral T-cell lymphoma | (125) |
| Raltitrexed | DHFR and TYMS | Metastatic colorectal cancer | (126) |
| 5-FU | TYMS | Used to treat multiple cancers, especially colorectal cancer | (127) |
| Gemcitabine | Ribonucleotide reductase | Used to treat multiple cancers, especially pancreatic cancer | (128) |
| Cytarabine | Ribonucleotide reductase | Acute leukemia | (129) |
| Azanucleotides | DNA methyltransferases | Myeloid leukemia | (130) |
| DMFO | Ornithine decaroboxylase | Clinical trial | (133) |
| SAM analogues | Histone methyltransferases | Clinical trial | (134) |
| MGBG and SMA486A | S-adenosyl decaroboxylase | Preclinical studies | (134) |
5-FU, 5-fluoruoracil; DHFR, dihydrofolate reductase; TYMS, thymidylate synthase; SHMT, serine hydroxymethyltransferase; DMFO, 2-diflu-oromethyl orinithine; MGBG, methylglyoxal bis (guanylhydrazone); SMA486A, (E)-2-(4-carbamimidoyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-1-ylidene) hydrazinecarboximidamide.