The role of antitumor antibiotics in current oncologic practice.

The antitumor antibiotics have thus made a major impact on oncologic practice. The continued search for productive strains of these organisms should be encouraged; in addition, the activity and toxicity spectrum suggests the need for vigorous analogue development. An active anthracycline devoid of cardiotoxicity, a bleomycin with no effect on pulmonary tissue, an analogue of streptozoticin devoid of nephrotoxicity -- these would be advances of inestimable benefit to the cancer patient of the future.