Introduction

Abstract

The U.S. National Cancer Institute’s program, begun in 1957, directed at isolation of naturally occurring antineoplastic agents, has amply demonstrated that certain plants and animals do indeed produce a great variety of anticancer agents. In recent years the dramatic discoveries arising from this program have stimulated a great deal of interest and initiation of analogous programs on a worldwide basis. This fortunate series of events is now allowing new antineoplastic and/or cytotoxic biosynthetic products to be discovered at an increasing rate. Very illustrative are the 487 antineoplastic and/or cytotoxic compounds described in Volume 2 of this series, which covers the literature to April 1976. In this section of the present volume are listed 99 compounds appearing in the literature from that date to July 1977. The following three-month period to November 1977 yielded more new results that will be briefly summarized here and eventually incorporated in a subsequent volume.