Antitumor activity of selected amino acid derivatives against various tumor systems.

We have previously reported that from 350 amino acid (A-A) derivatives five were selected after the primary in vivo and in vitro screening tests. The five compounds which were found to possess potential antitumor activity against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma are as follows: beta-naphthalene-sulfonyl-DL-tryptophan (A-91), beta-naphthyl-aminomethyl-gamma-aminobutyric acid (A-144), N-ethylcarbaminomethyl-L-isoleucine (A-145), n-9-fluorenylactyl-L-phenylalanine (A-192), and N-propoinyl-L-valine (A-195). The effect on life prolongation and tumor growth of these selected A-A derivatives against various types of tumors, including ascites and solid tumors in mice and ascites hepatomas in rats, was examined. A-A derivatives were administered once daily 3 consecutive days starting 24 hours after tumor implantation. Experimental results showed that among the five A-A derivatives possessing considerable activity against Ehlich carcinoma, A-144 and A-145 were found to be more effective than chromomycin A and showed activity similar to that of cyclophosphamide against ascites Sarcoma 180. A-A derivatives showed slight antitumor activity against SR61 and L1210 leukemias. In rat ascites hepatoma, such as AH13, AH7974, AH60C, and Yoshida sarcoma, only A-145 showed a significant prolongation of the lifespan in the control groups. The five selected A-A derivatives significantly inhibited the growth of Nakahara-Fukuoka sarcoma and solid Sarcoma 180. These findings indicate that among the five A-A derivatives, A-15 appeared to be the most active against ascites and solid tumors.