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The first drugs developed for the treatment of cancer in the 1940's were DNA damaging agents (nitrogen mustards). In order to divide rapidly, cancer cells must duplicate their DNA efficiently in order to create two viable daughter cells. The DNA is duplicated in the S-phase of the cell cycle. If the DNA is damaged by radiation or an anticancer drug, the cell will be forced to stop growing (growth arrest) and decide how to handle the DNA damage. Repairing the DNA is one action that may enable cancer cells to resist the cytotoxic effects of DNA damaging agents. However, if the level of damage is too high or the cell cannot efficiently repair the damage, then cell death is likely to occur.  There are a variety of DNA damaging agents (see below). Each drug differs in the type of damage that it forms with DNA and the relative cytotoxic effect each has on different types of cancer cells. In other words, some tumors are more sensitive to certain agents than others. Over the years, many clinical trials have been conducted to determine which agents are most effective in treating which tumor types. For more information on each drug, please click on the link for each drug below. Nitrogen mustards (Mustargen, Cyclophosphamide, Ifosfamide, Melphalan, Chlorambucil)
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