Motexafin gadolinium is among the more recent of therapeutic drugs used in chemotherapy of cancer patients. It is more of a chemical inhibitor than a typical chemotherapy drug. As a chemical inhibitor, it acts upon two vital chemicals (cellular enzymes to be precise) that are critical to the treatment of invasive cancer, like tumor in the brain. These two chemicals controlled by Motexafin gadolinium are thioredoxin and ribonucleotide-two types of reductase found in the human body, at the cellular level.



The use of Motexafin for treating brain tumor has become more prevalent in the recent years with better understanding of the more invasive forms of cancers like intracranial tumors that have been diagnosed as a result of unrestrained cell division. Brain tumors are very lethal and create an abnormal pressure in the intracranial cavity, often leading to seizures and reduction in supply of blood to various parts of the brain. As an effective, cancer-treatment agent, Motexafin gadolinium is also called an ionizing-radiation agent during cancer chemotherapy sessions.



Understanding Motexafin as an anti-cancer drug

Ribonucleotide reductase or RNR is also called diphosphate reductase. This is an enzyme that is critical to the process of cell-formation. All tumors depend upon rapid cell growth that makes the tumor malignant and renders it the ability to spread to various, nearby organs. RNR is needed for the formation of deoxyribonucleotides that can be understood as a state of cell maturation that is important in the overall process of cellular development. This action of RNR is identified with both, normal and cancer cells. It has been found that the catalyzing properties of RNR seem to be in an overdrive among the tumor cells. This is why when the RNR inhibitor (Motexafin) in introduced, there is a potential risk of killing the RNR activity of the nearby, normal cells. Thioredoxin reductase is also called TR or TrxR which is among the very select group of enzymes that are needed for maintaining the levels of thioredoxin required for the electrical pathways associated with cellular development. This is why Motexafin is also called a reducing agent as it limits (reduces) the amount of TR that is available to the tumor cells, impairing their multiplication.

Motexafin has the ability of gradually seeping into the tumor cells and creating abundant amount of reactive oxygen or the ROS at the cellular level. The overproduction of cellular oxygen causes the gradual death of some tumor cells and further discourages the multiplication of cancer cells. In many healthcare centers, a more subtle form of Motexafin-gadolinium is used-gadolinium texaphyrin or grade three Texaphryin. This chemical agent is more common than the actual Motexafin, in the form of various chemotherapy-branded drugs like Xcytrin or Gd-Tex since it induces lesser side-effects. It should be understood that Motexafin as a wholesome, chemotherapy alternative is still under the purview of medical research and analysis. It is still under clinical trial surveillance before it can be commonly recommended for chemotherapy though it is used in cases where in brain tumor poses an immediate threat to the survival of the patient.