Abstract

 ABSTRACT Cancer is second leading cause of death worldwide after heart diseases. The three proven methods of treating cancer are surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Chemotherapy uses powerful drugs to kill cancer cells, control their growth, or relieve pain symptoms, it is systemic; it works throughout the body, so the metastatic tumors can also be treated. Antimitotic drugs show a wide spectrum of activity against various cancers. This article comprises reviews of formulation of an antimitotic drug of plant alkaloids which is approved for treating human malignancies mainly breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, prostate cancer, gastric cancer, head and neck cancer by inhibiting microtubules, a cell protein helpful in cell division this causes the death of cancer cells or apoptosis. Being non polar the drug causes irritation to gastrointestinal tract when given orally, hence parenteral formulation is suitable for administering the drug substance systemically. The drug is also very sensitive to heat and moisture, so as to avoid the drug degradation by moisture it is formulated as non-aqueous formulation utilizing water free solvents. The lipophilic nature makes it difficult to formulate in any formulation. Hence different pharmaceutical methodologies are applied to make the drug suitable for administration. As the drug substance is highly toxic it is given as iv infusion to reduce the toxicity (by diluting the drug), to overcome dehydration, to build up depleted blood volumes and to serve as an aid for the administration of medication. Keywords: Non-Aqueous, Parenteral preparation, Anticancer Agent, Antimitotic.

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