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Review
. 2007 Jun 15;9(2):E200-7.
doi: 10.1208/aapsj0902022.

Polymer-drug conjugates as modulators of cellular apoptosis

María J Vicent  1
Affiliations
Review

Polymer-drug conjugates as modulators of cellular apoptosis

María J Vicent. AAPS J. .

Abstract

The successful clinical application of polymer-protein conjugates (PEGylated enzymes and cytokines) and the promising results arising from clinical trials with polymer-bound chemotherapy (eg, doxorubicin or paclitaxel) have established their potential to reduce toxicity and improve activity in chemotherapy-refractory patients. Furthermore, and more important, they have also provided a firm foundation for more sophisticated second-generation constructs that deliver the newly emerging target-directed bioactive agents (eg, modulators of apoptosis, cell cycle, anti-angiogenic drugs) in addition to polymer-based drug combinations (eg, endocrine therapy and chemotherapy). This review will focus on polymer-drug conjugate modulators of cellular apoptosis to be used as single pro-apoptotic (eg, cancer) or anti-apoptotic (eg, ischemia) agents or as a combination therapy.

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