The focus of the 22nd Annual Detroit Cancer Symposium was the presentation and discussion of cytotoxic agents, with a significant portion of the symposium including the exciting frontiers of drug discovery being explored by the National Cooperative Drug Discovery Groups (NCDDG) Program. The symposium brought together a large number of investigators from government, universities and pharmaceutical companies involved in the discovery and development of new anticancer agents. Exciting new leads were presented and the status of others presently under development was discussed. Of particular significance has been the initiation of renewed efforts in the area of natural product drug discovery, where the discovery of new cytotoxics is very promising at the moment. A number of major changes have occurred during the last decade in research on drug discovery of cytotoxic agents. Critical reviews of a number of the models and concepts underlying drug discovery represented a continuous thread throughout the meeting, being constantly discussed in terms of their advantages, disadvantages and capabilities of discovering solid tumor active anticancer agents. A recent development which is to be much applauded and which portends to great discoveries is the new relationship formed between Government, University of Industry. The NCDDG mechanism which stimulates this interaction is an inexpensive manner to greatly magnify the drug discovery and development effort nationally. Cytotoxic Anticancer Drugs: Models and Concepts for Drug Discovery and Development represents a forum which will become the major mode for bringing together these three different components in the equation to regularly discuss new results and ideas.

With the publication of these proceedings from the Second Drug Discovery and Development Symposium, this forum has become the main mechanism for bringing together the principal groups involved in both discovering and developing new approaches to the treatment of cancer. This Second Symposium emphasized the types of materials being discovered and their therapeutic activity. This is especially evident in the natural product discovery programs, where unique and active structures are being identified. The major contributors to the meeting were the investigators participating in the National Cooperative (Natural Products) Drug Discovery Groups [NC(NP)DDG]. These groups reflect an association among researchers at universities or cancer centers, pharmaceutical companies and the National Cancer Institute. Their sources of materials are varied, reflecting chemical inventories of pharmaceutical companies, organic synthetic compounds from the laboratory, cytotoxics as well as biologics and their hybrids, and natural products obtained from plants, marine organisms and microorganisms. The models employed in the discovery systems vary from broadly cellular based to specific enzymes to defined cellular functions. Each of them is believed important to the malignant state and will allow for the discovery of compounds which will have efficacy in cancer therapy. The goal of the participants is both to discover new anticancer agents and to develop them as efficiently as possible into clinically useful additions to treatment. Of importance is the fact that there are a number of promising leads which will soon be moving into the clinic thereby testing the effectiveness of this NC (NP) DDG approach.

With the publication of these proceedings from the Second Drug Discovery and Development Symposium, this forum has become the main mechanism for bringing together the principal groups involved in both discovering and developing new approaches to the treatment of cancer. This Second Symposium emphasized the types of materials being discovered and their therapeutic activity. This is especially evident in the natural product discovery programs, where unique and active structures are being identified. The major contributors to the meeting were the investigators participating in the National Cooperative (Natural Products) Drug Discovery Groups [NC(NP)DDG]. These groups reflect an association among researchers at universities or cancer centers, pharmaceutical companies and the National Cancer Institute. Their sources of materials are varied, reflecting chemical inventories of pharmaceutical companies, organic synthetic compounds from the laboratory, cytotoxics as well as biologics and their hybrids, and natural products obtained from plants, marine organisms and microorganisms. The models employed in the discovery systems vary from broadly cellular based to specific enzymes to defined cellular functions. Each of them is believed important to the malignant state and will allow for the discovery of compounds which will have efficacy in cancer therapy. The goal of the participants is both to discover new anticancer agents and to develop them as efficiently as possible into clinically useful additions to treatment. Of importance is the fact that there are a number of promising leads which will soon be moving into the clinic thereby testing the effectiveness of this NC (NP) DDG approach.

The focus of the 22nd Annual Detroit Cancer Symposium was the presentation and discussion of cytotoxic agents, with a significant portion of the symposium including the exciting frontiers of drug discovery being explored by the National Cooperative Drug Discovery Groups (NCDDG) Program. The symposium brought together a large number of investigators from government, universities and pharmaceutical companies involved in the discovery and development of new anticancer agents. Exciting new leads were presented and the status of others presently under development was discussed. Of particular significance has been the initiation of renewed efforts in the area of natural product drug discovery, where the discovery of new cytotoxics is very promising at the moment. A number of major changes have occurred during the last decade in research on drug discovery of cytotoxic agents. Critical reviews of a number of the models and concepts underlying drug discovery represented a continuous thread throughout the meeting, being constantly discussed in terms of their advantages, disadvantages and capabilities of discovering solid tumor active anticancer agents. A recent development which is to be much applauded and which portends to great discoveries is the new relationship formed between Government, University of Industry. The NCDDG mechanism which stimulates this interaction is an inexpensive manner to greatly magnify the drug discovery and development effort nationally. Cytotoxic Anticancer Drugs: Models and Concepts for Drug Discovery and Development represents a forum which will become the major mode for bringing together these three different components in the equation to regularly discuss new results and ideas.