Effects of Naturally Occurring Compounds on Human Cancer Cells

The use of anticancer agents as part of the treatment strategy has greatly improved the overall prognosis of cancer. In clinical practice, chemotherapy for cancer often requires a combination of drugs and therefore understanding the clinical pharmacology of anticancer drugs is imperative for achieving optimal benefits from use of these agents. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the biochemical and cytotoxic effects of naturally occurring compounds, such as resveratrol, resveratrol analogs, piceatannol, gallic acid, Avemar, and heavy water alone and/or in combination with clinically established anticancer agents such as arabinofuranosylcytosine and gemcitabine. The effects of these drugs were examined in human and murine leukemia cells as well as in human pancreatic tumor cell lines. We hope that our experiments may help to elucidate the biochemical pathways involved in the drug combinations applied and provide the basis for further in vivo studies in order to develop new strategies for the treatment of human malignancies.