[Apoptosis and cytostatic agents].

There are two distinct modes of cell death: necrosis and apoptosis. Apoptosis is an active process that may require gene expression and protein synthesis, and for this reason apoptosis has been called programmed cell death. Cancer cells in culture exposed to several anticancer drugs show morphological and biochemical characteristics consistent with apoptosis. This observation has possible impact on chemotherapeutic treatment of cancer. In this article we survey apoptosis, with emphasis on the relationship between apoptosis and anticancer drugs.