In the search for new anticancer drugs. XV. Various aliphatic and aromatic hydrazones containing the N,N;N',N'-bis(1,2-ethanediyl)phosphoric diamide moiety.

The scope of the structure-anticancer activity relationship among various aliphatic and aromatic hydrazones containing the N,N,N',N'-bis(1,2-ethanediyl)-phosphoric diamide moiety was studied. A total of 19 compounds were tested in vivo, using murine lymphocytic leukemia P388. At optimum dose all these compounds were active. The highest activity was exhibited by the N,N;N',N'-bis(1,2-ethanediyl)-[N2-(p-chlorobenzylidene)-N1- hydrazin-1-yl]phosphoric triamide, N,N;N',N'-bis(1,2-ethanediyl)-N2-(p-chlorobenzylidene)-N1- methylhydrazin-1-yl]phosphoric triamide and N,N;N',N'-bis(1,2-ethanediyl)-[N2-(p-chlorobenzylidene)-N1- phenylhydrazin-1-yl]phosphoric triamide as is evidenced by the percent T/C of 212, 194 and 192, respectively. An attempt was made to correlate the anticancer activities with the corresponding lipophilicities. On the basis of the activity-lipophilicity results, it is concluded that, in general, the activity scale follows the lipophilicity scale in the reverse order, i.e. the more active compounds possess lower lipophilicity than the less active compounds.