Podophyllotoxins and Analogs

Podophyllotoxins represent an important class of natural products in the armamentarium of anti neoplastic agents. Extensive investigations on podophyllotoxins were initialized by the biological assessment of podophyllotoxin (1) and the discovery of its mode of action, and culminated in the synthesis and development of the clinically efœcacious anticancer drugs, etoposide (2) and teniposide (3) (Figure 5.1). The long itinerary from podophyllotoxin to etoposide and teniposide exempliœes the

5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................95 5.1.1 Discovery of Podophyllotoxins ...................................................................................96 5.1.2 Development of Etoposide and Teniposide .................................................................96