Abstract: The invention provides compounds, several of which belong to a class having two or more nonpolar components connected by a polar group and having polar groups on the termini of the compound. The invention also concents a method of selectively inducing termini differentiation of neoplastic cells and thereby inhibiting proliferation of such cells which comprises contacting the cells under suitable condition with an amount of the compound effective to selectively induce terminal differentiation. Moreover, the invention provides a method of treating a patient having a tumor characterized by proliferation of neoplastic cells which comprises administering to the patient an amount of the compound effective to selectively induce terminal differentiation of such neoplastic cells, thereby inhibiting their proliferation and suppressing oncogenicity.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
June 7, 1995
Date of Patent:
November 24, 1998
Assignees:
Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York
Inventors:
Paul A. Marks, Richard A. Rifkind, Ronald Breslow, Branko Jursic