etoposide

Description: Etoposide (formerly VP-16, VP-16213; Toposar; VePesid; Lastet; EPEG), a chemotherapeutic drug used for the treatments of various cancers, is a semisynthetic derivative of the naturally occuring podophyllotoxin which inhibits DNA synthesis via topoisomerase II inhibitory activity. Etoposide is extracted from the mandrake root Podophyllum peltatum. It possesses potent antineoplastic properties, and binds to and inhibits topoisomerase II. Etoposide works by ligating cleaved DNA molecules, resulting in the accumulation of single- or double-strand DNA breaks, the inhibition of DNA replication and transcription, and apoptotic cell death. Etoposide acts primarily in the G2 and S phases of the cell cycle.

References: J Dermatol Sci. 2000 Nov; 24(2):126-33; J Natl Cancer Inst. 1988 Dec 7; 80(19):1526-33.

Related CAS#: 117091-64-2 (phosphate)