Antiproliferative and Antimetastatic Properties of 16-Azidomethyl Substituted 3- O -Benzyl Estrone Analogs.

Four diastereomers of 16-azidomethyl substituted 3--benzyl estradiol (-) and their two estrone analogs ( and ) were tested for their antiproliferative properties against human gynecological cancer cell lines. The estrones were selected for additional experiments based on their outstanding cell growth-inhibiting activities. Both compounds increased hypodiploid populations of breast cancer cells, and elicited cell cycle disturbance as evidenced by flow cytometry. The two analogs substantially increased the rate of tubulin polymerization in vitro. and inhibited breast cancer cells' migration and invasive ability, as evidenced by wound healing and Boyden chamber assays. Since both estrone analogs exerted remarkable estrogenic activities, as documented by a luciferase reporter gene assay, they can be considered as promising drug candidates for hormone-independent malignancies.