Antibiotic Drugs For Cancer Treatment
An antibiotic is a chemical made by a microbe that antagonizes the growth of other cells. Chemotherapy antibiotics are not the same as the ones used to fight bacterial infections. Those drugs disrupt the cell membranes. Antineoplastic antibiotics bind with DNA, causing these famously coiled molecules to uncoil, thereby preventing RNA synthesis, a key step in protein synthesis. They also oxidize critical compounds the cells need. In this they are like many chemotherapy medicines. The origins of the antibiotics are microorganisms (bacteria or fungi) but once they get discovered as effective drugs, their chemical structure is elucidated and they are made by chemical synthesis without biotechnology.
Antibiotics work throughout the cell cycle. They are classified as cell cycle nonspecific. Antibiotics are used against leukemia, bladder cancer, testicular cancer, and sarcomas.
See our page on anthracyclines for information on antibiotics in that class, including Doxorubicin, Daunorubicin, Epirubicin, Valrubicin, and Idarubicin. Mitoxantrone, which this site classifies as a topoisomerase inhibitor, can also be considered an antibiotic.
Some antibiotics derived from the bacteria genus Streptomyces have been investigated for use in cancer treatment, but none are in clinical use at this time.
Other antibiotics in use for cancer treatment include:
Actinomycin-D
Brand/Trade Names: Act-D, Cosmegen, Dactinomycin
Formula: C62H86N12O16
Mechanism:
Class: Polypeptide Antibiotic
Administration: Intravenous
Notes: First antibiotic used against cancer. Approved by the FDA in 1964. Used in treatment of many sarcomas and some carcinomas.
Bleomycin
Brand/Trade Names: Blenoxanen
Formula: C55H84N17O21S3
Mechanism:
Class: Glycopeptide Antibiotic
Administration: Intravenous, subcutaneous, intramuscular
Notes: Approved by the FDA in 1973. Used in treatment of lymphoma, melanoma, sarcoma, ovarian cancer, and testicular cancer.
Mitomycin
Brand/Trade Names: Mutamycin, MTC
Formula: C15H18N4O5
Mechanism:
Class: Antibiotic
Administration: Intravenous
Notes: First discovered as a product of bacteria. Approved by the FDA in 1974. Used for treatment of stomach cancer and pancreas cancer.