| Vascular disrupting agents (VDAs), a group of cancer remedies, can cause a specific and
irreversible destruction of established tumor vessels, and the complete halt of blood flow in
the tumor. DMXAA(ASA404) or Vadimezan, a flavone
-acetic acid
-based drug is the most
promising VDAs that induces a rapid shutdown of blood flow in tumor
s but not in normal
tissue. The exact mechanism of vascular disruption is unknown; however proposed direct and
indirect mechanisms of action for DMXAA comprises
: i) inducing apoptosis in endothelial
cells
; ii) hemorrhagic necrosis and
ischemia in tumor
; iii) release of serotonin (5
-HT)
; vi)
stimulation of innate immune system
; v) production of inflammatory cytokines e.g. TNF, IL
-
6, GCSF
, KC, IP
-10
, and MCP
-
1
; vi) activation of NFκB and p38 (MAPK); vii) production
of nitric oxide and viii) reducing tumor energetics and membrane turnover. Despite the
remarkable results from preclinical and
Phase I/II, DMXAA ha
s failed in phase III clinical
trials. The reason for this surprising discrepancy
, among
others
, was discovered to be STING
receptor variations between mice and humans. In this review, the development
, the
mechanism
s of DMXAA action
, the clinical trials, the combination therapy
, and the future of
this drug will be discussed. |