A biochemical approach to chemotherapy.

A program in chemotherapy is described in which antimetabolites to constituents of nucleic acids were used as probes of enzymes and metabolic pathways. These studies led to a number of insights into nucleic acid biosynthesis and related biochemical fields. They also provided exploitable information that was developed into drugs for the treatment of leukemia, the prevention of rejection of organ transplants, and a new therapy for hyperuricemia and gout. Studies on infectious diseases provided insights into the modeling of inhibitor-enzyme complexes and led to new and effective antimicrobial and antiviral agents. Basic research and relative absences of specific targeting are shown to have greatly facilitated the progress of the program.