New retinoids and protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors for the treatment of disseminated cancer: selective induction of apoptosis in malignant cells

Enhanced cell growth and diminished programmed cell death (or an imbalance of these two processes in favour of mitosis) are believed to be decisive players in cancer development. Thus, the major aim of potentially successful therapeutic settings for disseminated cancer is the induction of enhanced programmed cell death (often referred to as apoptosis) rates within the malignant tissue in order Co re-establish cell homeostasis and respectively eradicate malignant cells. This might be achieved either by activation of eel death programs as a consequence of cell injury (e.g., conventional chemotherapy) or of differentiation processes (e.g., retinoid therapy), or by suppression of tumour cell-specific signal pathways transmitted by survival factors or other effector molecules (many of them are in part executed by protein kinase cascades). The discussed patents lay claims on the inhibition of tumour cell growth and/or the induction of apoptosis in cancer cells by adamantyl or adamantyl group derivative-containing retinoids or by substituted heteroaromatic compounds which are protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors.