On the formation of 4-[N,N-bis(2-chloroethyl)amino]phenyl acetic acid esters of hecogenin and aza-homo-hecogenin and their antileukemic activity.

The p-[N,N-bis(2-chloroethyl)amino]phenylacetic acid esters of hecogenin and aza-homo-hecogenin have been prepared and their antineoplastic activity was evaluated against two basic drug screening systems in rodents, P388 lymphocytic and L1210 lymphoid murine leukemias. Among the compounds tested, the p-[N,N-bis(2-chloroethyl)amino]phenylacetic acid ester of aza-homo-hecogenin was appeared to possess a significant higher antileukemic effect. These results support that the alkylating esters of hecogenin produce important antitumor activity as well as, indicate that the aza-homo-hecogenin ester exhibits significantly higher activity due to lactam group (-NHCO-) modification.