Staff Profile:Dr Francesca Greco

Name:

Dr Francesca Greco

Job Title:

Lecturer, Pharmaceutics

Responsibilities:

Senior Tutor

Areas of Interest:

Statistics show that one in three people develops cancer and one in four dies from it. It is clear that there is an urgent need to develop new therapeutics that are able to act more selectively on tumour cells. Polymer-anticancer drug conjugates are nano-sized medicines where anticancer drugs are covalently bound to a polymeric platform. Due to the hyperpermeability of tumour vasculature, they are able to accumulate preferentially in the tumour tissue (passive targeting). The linker between the drug and the polymer is designed to be cleaved following endocytic uptake by tumour cells. A number of polymer drug conjugates have now entered clinical evaluation and they are showing considerable promise.

Recently we have suggested the use of a single polymeric carrier to simultaneously deliver the combination of endocrine therapy and chemotherapy for the treatment of breast cancer. This conjugate was markedly more effective than the conjugates carrying individual drugs or their mixture.

My main interest is to elucidate the exact mechanism of action of these nano-sized constructs at cellular level.

Research groups / Centres:

Publications:

Y

Jump to: 2011 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006

Number of items: 10.

2011

• Fante, C., Eldar-Boock, A., Satchi-Fainaro, R., Osborn, H. M. I. and Greco, F. (2011) Synthesis and biological evaluation of a polyglutamic acid-dopamine conjugate: a new antiangiogenic agent. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 54 (14). pp. 5255-5259. ISSN 0022-2623 doi: 10.1021/jm200382r
• Blencowe, C. A., Russell, A. T., Greco, F., Hayes, W. and Thornthwaite, D. W. (2011) Self-immolative linkers in polymeric delivery systems. Polymer Chemistry, 2 (4). pp. 773-790. ISSN 1759-9954 doi: 10.1039/C0PY00324G

2009

• Greco, F. and Vicent, M. (2009) Combination therapy: opportunities and challenges for polymer-drug conjugates as anticancer nanomedicines. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 61 (13). pp. 1203-1213. ISSN 0169-409X doi: DOI:10.1016/j.addr.2009.05.006
• Pasut, G., Greco, F., Mero, A., Mendichi, R., Fante, C., Green, R. J. and Veronese, F. (2009) Polymer-drug conjugates for combination anticancer therapy: investigating the mechanism of action. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 52 (20). pp. 6499-6502. ISSN 0022-2623 doi: DOI:10.1021/jm900804m

2008

• Bonjoch, J., Drew, M. G.B., Gonzalez, A., Greco, F., Jawaid, S., Osborn, H. M. I., Williams, N. A.O. and Yaqoob, P. (2008) Synthesis and evaluation of novel boron-containing complexes of potential use for the selective treatment of malignant melanoma. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 51 (20). pp. 6604-6608. ISSN 0022-2623 doi: DOI:10.1021/jm8007745
• Greco, F. and Vicent, M. J. (2008) Polymer-drug conjugates: current status and future trends. Frontiers in Bioscience, 13. pp. 2744-2756. ISSN 1093-9946 doi: 10.2741/2882

2007

• Greco, F., Vicent, M.J., Gee, S., Jones, A.T., Gee, J., Nicholson, R.I. and Duncan, R. (2007) Investigating the mechanism of enhanced cytotoxicity of HPMA copolymer-Dox-AGM in breast cancer cells. Journal of Controlled Release, 117 (1). pp. 28-39. ISSN 0168-3659 doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2006.10.012
• Greco, F., Vicent, M.J., Gee, S., Jones, A., Gee, J., Nicholson, R.I. and Duncan, R. (2007) Polymer based combination therapy: designing a new treatment for breast cancer. In: Roche symposium for leading scientists of the next decade, Basel, Switzerland.

2006

• Duncan, R., Vicent, M.J., Greco, F. and Ferguson, E. (2006) Polmer anticancer conjugates and their use in combination therapy. In: 33rd annual meeting and exposition of the Controlled Release Society, Vienna, Austria, p. 25.
• Bettio, F., Canevari, M., Marzano, C., Bordin, F., Guiotto, A., Greco, F., Duncan, R. and Veronese, F. (2006) Synthesis and biological in vitro evaluation of novel PEG-psoralen conjugates. Biomacromolecules, 7 (12). pp. 3534-3541. ISSN 1525-7797 doi: 10.1021/bm060760n

This list was generated on Sun May 27 01:24:25 2012 BST.

Abstracts

1. Fante C., Osborn H., Greco F. (2008). Synthesis of novel nanomedicines for the treatment of melanoma. Recent Appointees in Polymer Science (RAPS) annual conference. Nottingham (UK) 17th-19th September.
2. Pasut G., Mero A., Santucci L., Fiorucci S., Greco F., Veronese F.M. (2008). Combination therapy: the case of NO-PEGylated epirubicin. 7^th International Symposium on Polymer Therapeutics: from Laboratory to Clinical Practice. Valencia (Spain). 26^th -28^th May. (pp. 19).
3. Greco F., Vicent M.J., Gee S., Jones A., Gee J., Nicholson R.I. and Duncan R. (2007). Polymer based combination therapy: designing a new treatment for breast cancer. Roche Symposium for Leading Scientists of the Next Decade, Basel, Switzerland.
4. Duncan R., Vicent M., Greco F. and Ferguson E. (2006). Polymer anticancer conjugates and their use in combination therapy. Proceedings of 33^rd International Symposium of Controlled Release of Bioactive Materials, 25.
5. Bettio F., Canevari M., Marzano C., Bordin F., Guiotto A., Greco F., Duncan R. and Veronese F. (2006). PEG-furocoumarin conjugates for phototherapy applications. Proceedings of 33^rd International Symposium of Controlled Release of Bioactive Materials, 965.
6. Greco F., Vicent M.J., Nicholson R.I and Duncan R. (2005). Mechanism of action of a novel polymer combination therapy for breast cancer. Proceedings of 32^nd International Symposium of Controlled Release of Bioactive Materials, 257.
7. Duncan R., Vicent M.J., Greco F. and Nicholson R. (2005). Polymer therapeutics designed to treat breast and prostate cancer. Proceedings of 229^th American Chemical Society National Meeting, 54.
8. Duncan R., Vicent M.J., Greco F., Nicholson R., Wan K., Paul, A., Griffiths, P., (2004). Polymer therapeutics as novel anticancer agents: current status and future prospects. Proceedings 35^th International Symposium Princess Takamatsu Cancer Research Fund, 38-39.
9. Greco F., Vicent M.J., Barrow D., Nicholson R. and Duncan R. (2004) Evaluation of HPMA copolymer-Dox-AGM conjugates in vitro: a novel polymer combination for the treatment of breast cancer. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, S-17.
10. Greco F., Vicent M.J., Barrow D., Nicholson R. and Duncan R. (2004). In vitro evaluation of HPMA copolymer-Dox-AGM conjugates. Proceedings of 6^th International Symposium on Polymer Therapeutics, 77.
11. Vicent M.J., Greco F., Barrow D., Nicholson R. and Duncan R. (2003). Using Polymer conjugates to optimise combination therapy for treatment of hormone-dependent cancer. Proceedings of 30^th International Symposium of Controlled Release of Bioactive Materials, 487.