Nitrogen-Containing Heterocyclic Quinones: A Class of Potential Selective Antitumor Agents

The development of prodrugs that are enzymatically activated into anticancer agents is a promising perspective in cancer therapy. Many nitrogen-containing quinoid heterocycles have been reported to show antitumor effect. The principal interest in these compounds lies on their potential to produce tumor-selective toxicity. Selectivity occurs by difference in oxygen tension between normal and tumor tissue and by levels of the required activating enzymes. In this review a summary of the most interesting heterocyclic quinones is given together with their biological property. SAR studies concerning the importance of some structural features will be described.