Anticancer Antibiotics, Anthracyclines, Oncologic: Daunorubicin, Doxorubicin, Bleomycin, Dactinomycin, Plicamycin mnemonic

Anticancer Antibiotics

Anthracyclines [ant race cycling]: Daunorubicin [Da' UNO rubbing (pizzareia UNO)] and Doxorubicin [dog's rubbing sin]
- Several modes of action:
  - Intercalate DNA [feet intercalate into the DNA]
  - Attack cell membranes [dog biting off a patch of membrane] by lipid peroxidation
  - Lipid peroxidation generates free radicals and peroxide]
    - Anthracyclines exhibit marked cardiac toxicity, since the heart lacks catalase and cannot neutralize radicals [there is no cat (the dog ate it), and so there is nothing preventing the ant from race-cycle through the heart]
  - Associated with pneumothorax [dog biting off patch of lung, producing a hole]
  - Used in the treatment of:
    - ALL [ALL and escaping air from pneumothorax make foam]
    - Lung carcinomas [in lung]
    - Breast carcinomas [dog wearing a bra]
  - Administered intravenously [syringe]
  - Metabolized by the liver [fanged liver], also with minor excretion through the urine
  - Color the urine red [peeing dog]
Bleomycin [blue mice]
- Cleaves DNA [blow breaks DNA]
- Used in the treatment of:
  - Non-Hodkins Lymphomas [NHL Hockey stick]
  - Squamous cell carcinoma [squid], especially of the penis [the blue mice]
  - Testicular tumors [gripping round testicular tumor]
- Sequesters iron [holding an iron]
- Does not cause myelosupression as much as other oncologic agents [puts the "bone" back in the blue boner]
Dactinomycin [Da' acting mice (Mickey Mouse)]
- Treatment of:
  - Wilms tumor of the kidney ["Films" tumor]
  - Sarcoma ["Shark-oma" - severs the shark]
  - Choriocarcinoma [malicious tumor of the chorion]
- Intercalates into the small groove of DNA helix [Da' acting mice enters the helix of film]
  - Interferes primairly with RNA transcription
- Increases sensitivity to radiation [radiation burns the film]
- Does not cross brain-blood barrier [the film does not penetrate the thick skull]
Plicamycin [Pee-leak-a-mice]
- Toxic to osteoclasts [pee is burning the osteoclasts that is eating the bone]
- Since osteoclast function is impaired, plasma calcium levels decrease