Platinum and palladium complexes of 3-methyl orotic acid: a route toward palladium complexes with good antitumor activity.

In order to design and develop potential anticancer drugs involving the same structural pattern as platinum(II) antitumor complexes, complexes of palladium and platinum with 3-methyl-orotic acid as the leaving ligand have been synthesized. The study of the anticancer activity of these compounds toward L1210 leukemia and sarcoma 180 in mice is presented and discussed in terms of the nature of the ligand and the metal involved. The (3-methylorotato)(1,2-diamino-cyclohexane) palladium(II) has an activity (sarcoma 180) similar to that for cis-DDP itself. The crystal structure of (3-methylorotato)(dl-trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane) platinum(II) is described.