Ruthenium(II) complexes containing diimine ligands have contributed to the development of agents for photoactivated chemotherapy. Several approaches have been used to obtain photolabile Ru(II) complexes. The two most explored have been the use of monodentate ligands and the incorporation of steric effects between the bidentate ligands and the Ru(II).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA second-generation series of biscyclometalated 2-(5-aryl-thienyl)-benzimidazole and -benzothiazole Ir(III) dppz complexes [Ir(C^N)(dppz)], -, were rationally designed and synthesized, where the aryl group attached to the thienyl ring was -CFCH or -MeNCH. These new Ir(III) complexes were assessed as photosensitizers to explore the structure-activity correlations for their potential use in biocompatible anticancer photodynamic therapy. When irradiated with blue light, the complexes exhibited high selective potency across several cancer cell lines predisposed to photodynamic therapy; the benzothiazole derivatives ( and ) were the best performers, being also activatable with green or red light.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhotodynamic therapy (PDT) represents a promising approach for cancer treatment. However, the oxygen dependency of PDT to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) hampers its therapeutic efficacy, especially against hypoxic solid tumors. In addition, some photosensitizers (PSs) have dark toxicity and are only activatable with short wavelengths such as blue or UV-light, which suffer from poor tissue penetration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe present the synthesis and characterization of six new heteroleptic osmium(II) complexes of the type [Os(C^N)(N^N)]OTf (N^N = 2,2'-bipyridine and dipyrido[3,2-:2',3'-]quinoxaline; C^N = deprotonated methyl 1-butyl-2aryl-benzimidazolecarboxylate) with varying substituents in the R3 position of the phenyl ring of the cyclometalating C^N ligand. The new compounds are highly kinetically inert and absorb a full-wavelength range of visible light. An investigation of the antiproliferative activity of the new compounds has been performed using a panel of human cancer and noncancerous 2D cell monolayer cultures under dark conditions and green light irradiation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnti-programmed cell death (PD)-1 therapies in metastatic tumors have a high incidence of immune adverse events, including cutaneous manifestations such as vitiligo-like lesions. This side effect is associated with increased survival and it is a clinical marker of response to treatment. This case report is a graphic representation of the appearance of vitiligo-like lesions over in-transit metastases of malignant melanoma linked to a complete response to treatment with pembrolizumab.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Ewing's sarcoma family of tumors (ESFT) comprises a number of rare malignant tumors. Standard first-line treatment for patients with these tumors includes chemotherapy with a five-drug regimen of vincristine, doxorubicin (Adriamycin) and cyclophosphamide, alternating with ifosfamide and etoposide (VAC/IE). In cases of inadequate response, there are a number of second-line regimens available.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnal cancer is a rare tumor that accounts for 2% of all colorectal neoplasms. The brain is a rarely affected organ. The aim of the present study was to the review the only four cases of anal cancer brain metastases previously published in the literature.
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