Repositioning therapy for thyroid cancer: new insights on established medications

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Pharmacology
• Drug Repurposing

Background:

• Established non-cancer pharmacotherapeutic agents offer a promising avenue for novel cancer treatment modalities.
• Thyroid cancer (TC) presents opportunities for drug repositioning due to identified molecular targets.
• Existing medications for mood disorders, sexually transmitted diseases, metabolic disorders, and diabetes may be relevant for TC treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze existing medications with mechanisms of action potentially relevant to thyroid cancer (TC).
• To identify well-known drugs that could serve as new therapeutic options for TC patients.
• To explore the potential of drug repositioning to broaden current therapeutic strategies for TC.

Main Methods:

• Review of experimental in vitro and in vivo evidence.
• Analysis of clinical study results.
• Identification of molecular targets relevant to TC, such as ERK, which is activated in TC cells.

Main Results:

• Medications targeting pathways relevant to mood disorders, metabolic disorders, and diabetes show potential in TC.
• Cannabis derivatives and metformin, an anti-diabetic agent, inhibit ERK, a common target in TC.
• Several established medications demonstrate potential as novel therapeutics for TC.

Conclusions:

• Repositioning of established medications can broaden therapeutic strategies for thyroid cancer.
• Drug repositioning allows for a more individualized treatment approach for TC patients.
• Exploring existing drugs offers a viable path to develop new treatment modalities for various cancer types.