Synthesis and antineoplastic activity of O-alkylated derivatives of 7-hydroximinoandrost-5-ene steroids. 
Varied positioning of the hydroximino group on the parental steroid skeleton results in remarkable changes in the antineoplastic activity profile of the compounds.  Here, the compound 7-oximino-5-androstene and its O-alkylated derivatives have been prepared and screened for cytotoxic and aromatase inhibitory activity.  The steroidal 7-oximino ether derivatives exhibited insignificant cytotoxic effects when screened against three cancer cell lines, MCF-7 (breast), NCl-H460 (lung), and SF-268 (CNS) at 100 microM. However, the imidazolyl-substituted steroidal oxime ethers displayed moderate inhibition of cytochrome P450 aromatase.