Drug delivery systems: Anticancer prodrugs and their polymeric conjugates

Prodrugs and their polymeric conjugates (transport forms) offer many promising modalities for new cancer chemotherapies. They present unique opportunities to increase the therapeutic index of a particular drug by exploiting the properties associated with the disease in a predictable fashion. Drugs can be chemically modified with a promoiety to achieve an exclusive selectivity by utilising specific enzymes, fenestrated vasculatures, more acidic environments and other unique properties of the tumour. Additionally, by incorporating a promoiety into existing immunoconjugates, greater efficacy can be achieved.