Belotecan Explained

Belotecan is a drug used in chemotherapy. It is a semi-synthetic camptothecin analogue indicated for small-cell lung cancer and ovarian cancer, approved in South Korea under the trade name Camtobell, presented in 2 mg vials for injection.^[1] The drug has been marketed by Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceuticals^[2] since 2003.^[3]

Mechanism of action

Belotecan blocks topoisomerase I with a pIC₅₀ of 6.56,^[4] stabilizing the cleavable complex of topoisomerase I-DNA, which inhibits the religation of single-stranded DNA breaks generated by topoisomerase I; lethal double-stranded DNA breaks occur when the topoisomerase I-DNA complex is encountered by the DNA replication machinery, DNA replication is disrupted, and the tumor cell undergoes apoptosis. Topoisomerase I is an enzyme that mediates reversible single-strand breaks in DNA during DNA replication.^[5]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Camtobell Inj. 2mg . https://web.archive.org/web/20161112142615/http://www.ckdpharm.com/eng/ckd/product/productView.ckd?seq=2463 . 12 November 2016 . Chong Kun Dang pharmaceutical Corp .
2. Web site: Camtobell Inj. 2mg . https://web.archive.org/web/20161112142615/http://www.ckdpharm.com/eng/ckd/product/productView.ckd?seq=2463 . 12 November 2016 . Chong Kun Dang pharmaceutical Corp .
3. Book: Sahoo U . Clinical Research in Asia: Opportunities and Challenges . Woodhead Publishing Limited. 2012. 978-1-908818-13-3. Oxford. 152. New drugs approved in South Korea.
4. Web site: Belotecan . 2016-07-31 . drugcentral.org . UNM School of Medicine. 2016-11-12.
5. Li F, Jiang T, Li Q, Ling X . Camptothecin (CPT) and its derivatives are known to target topoisomerase I (Top1) as their mechanism of action: did we miss something in CPT analogue molecular targets for treating human disease such as cancer? . American Journal of Cancer Research . 7 . 12 . 2350–2394 . 2017 . 29312794 . 5752681 .