Antitumor Antibiotics.
July 9, 2009 5:26 am Antitumor Antibiotics
Another chemotherapy isolated form the fungus Streptomyces verticullus is Bleomycin. Its mechanism of action is similar to that of the anthracyclines, in that free oxygen radicals are formed that result in DNA breaks leading to cancer cell death. This drug is rarely used by itself rather in conjunction with other chemotherapies. Bleomycin is an active agent in regimens for testicular cancer and Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The most concerning side effect of this drug is lung toxicities due to oxygen free radical formation.