O-methylated rapamycin derivatives for alleviation and inhibition of lymphoproliferative disorders

A method of inhibiting metastasis of a lymphatic tumor in a human patient afflicted with a lymphatic cancer, the method comprising administering to the patient, in an amount sufficient to inhibit lymphocyte proliferation, a rapamycin derivative having the chemical structure

• wherein
• X is (H, H) or O;
• Y is (H, OH) or O;
• each of R1 and R2 independently ndependently selected from the group consisting of —H, alkyl, thioalkyl, arylalkyl, hydroxyalkyl, dihydroxyalkyl, hydroxyalkylarylalkyl, dihydroxyalkylarylalkyl, alkoxyalkyl, acyloxyalkyl, aminoalkyl, alkylaminoalkyl, alkoxycarbonylaminoalkyl, acylaminoalkyl, arylsulfonamidoalkyl, allyl, dihydroxyalkylallyl, dioxolanylallyl, carbalkoxyalkyl, and (R3)3 Si;
• each R3 is independently selected from the group consisting of —H, methyl, ethyl, isopropyl, tert-butyl, and phenyl;
• and
• either R4 is methyl or R4 and R1 together form a C2-5 alkylene moiety.