Mechanisms of anticancer action of HPMA copolymer-bound doxorubicin

This paper summarizes the peculiarities of HPMA copolymer-bound doxorubicin as an anticancer drug. It was found that polymer-bound doxorubicin demonstrated higher anticancer activity compared with free doxorubicin. This phenomenon was explained by the following mechanisms of its anticancer action: preferential accumulation in tumors, internalization in membrane-limited organelles, ability to overcome existing multidrug resistance and not to induce it de novo, high intracellular toxicity and inhibition of detoxification enzymes, cell death induction by the activation of specific signaling pathways, and triggering of caspase activation cascades.