摘要
Cancer,a complex and multifactorial disease,presents a significant challenge to global health.Despite significant advances in surgical,radiotherapeutic and immunological approaches,which have improved cancer treatment outcomes,drug therapy continues to serve as a key therapeutic strategy.However,the clinical efficacy of drug therapy is often constrained by drug resistance and severe toxic side effects,and thus there remains a critical need to develop novel cancer therapeutics.One promising strategy that has received widespread attention in recent years is drug repurposing:the identification of new applications for existing,clinically approved drugs.Drug repurposing possesses several inherent advantages in the context of cancer treatment since repurposed drugs are typically cost-effective,proven to be safe,and can significantly expedite the drug development process due to their already established safety profiles.In light of this,the present review offers a comprehensive overview of the various methods employed in drug repurposing,specifically focusing on the repurposing of drugs to treat cancer.We describe the antitumor properties of candidate drugs,and discuss in detail how they target both the hallmarks of cancer in tumor cells and the surrounding tumor microenvironment.In addition,we examine the innovative strategy of integrating drug repurposing with nanotechnology to enhance topical drug delivery.We also emphasize the critical role that repurposed drugs can play when used as part of a combination therapy regimen.To conclude,we outline the challenges associated with repurposing drugs and consider the future prospects of these repurposed drugs transitioning into clinical application.
基金
This study was supported by research grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China to H.H.(82060442)
the Foundation of the Education Department of Guizhou Province(no.[2022]214)
the Undergraduate Teaching Engineering Construction Project of Guizhou College of Traditional Chinese Medicine to Y.X.(no.GZY-JG(2018)6)
This work was funded in part by the China Scholarship Council(No.202008520053 to Y.X.).
作者简介
Correspondence:Hai Huang(huanghai828@gmc.edu.cn);Correspondence:Wei-Lin Jin(ldyy_jinwl@lzu.edu.cn);Ying Xia,contributed equally;Ming Sun,contributed equally。
