Vincristine

Vincristine is a chemotherapy medication used to treat a number of cancers, including acute lymphocytic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma, neuroblastoma and small cell lung cancer, given intravenously. It acts as a mitotic inhibitor by binding to the protein tubulin, preventing the formation of microtubules needed to separate chromosomes during cell division, which stops cells from dividing and ultimately triggers their death. The compound is a vinca alkaloid, first isolated in 1961 from the Madagascar periwinkle plant, and research at Eli Lilly and Company's Indianapolis laboratories showed it was effective against leukemia induced in mice and against childhood acute leukemias; the Food and Drug Administration approved it in July 1963 under the brand name Oncovin. It appears on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines and, while originally extracted from the plant, is increasingly produced by synthetic methods.