Camptothecin and Its Analogs Antitumor Activity by Poisoning Topoisomerase I, Their Structure Activity Relationship and Clinical Development Perspective of Analogs

Camptothecin or CPT and its analogs appear to employ anticancer action by poisoning topoisomerase I (topo I) enzyme. As a result topo I activity inhibited and have established important role against a wide range of tumors. CPT was extracted from bark of Chinese plant Camptotheca acuminate but now a large number of synthetic and semi-synthetics are identified. After activity, researchers organized evaluation of A, B and E-ring modified CPT reported analogs. This review illustrated a discussion of modern approaches in medicinal chemistry development of CPT, effective anticancer agent that targets topoisomerase I and also with their Clinical studies. This review summarizes the mode of action of CPT, the structure-activity relationship (SAR), a list of CPT analogs and their biological action with detail clinical development.