PERSPECTIVES IN MEDICAL SCIENCES A Review of Polyamines and Cancer

The first research publication describing polyaminated compounds in cancer tissues occurred in 1958 in the Proceedings of the National Acadamy of Japan (1). In those early years, polyaminated molecules and substances were identified in all forms of life – bacteria, fungus, plants, and all types of eukaroytic cells. They were determined to be critical for all types of cellular proliferation, and indeed for the continuation of life in all currently known cell types. Immediately, research on polyamines expanded very rapidly. Between 1960 and 1985, there were more than 5,000 research publications about polyaminated small molecules and compounds, including 11 multi-chapter research review books (2-12) and six extensive review publications (averaging more than 50 pages per review) just by the Tabors alone (1318). It was anticipated that knowledge and/or control of intracellular polyamine systems would have unlimited industrial and medical/clinical applications. However, now 45 years later, these great expections have not proven to be “exactly” correct.