Pharmacokinetic strategies to improve drug penetration and entrapment within solid tumors

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Pharmacology
• Cancer Therapeutics

Background:

• Cancer remains a leading cause of death despite numerous anticancer agents.
• Solid tumors exhibit genetic instability and develop resistance to treatments.
• Treatment resistance is a significant challenge for both existing and novel anticancer drugs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review pharmacokinetic approaches for improving solid tumor treatment.
• To discuss how optimizing drug concentration and entrapment can combat resistance.
• To analyze various treatment modalities based on their intratumoral pharmacokinetic influence.

Main Methods:

• Review of established and novel treatment modalities for solid tumors.
• Focus on pharmacokinetic aspects of metronomic therapy, angiogenesis inhibitors, vascular disrupting agents, and tumor priming.
• Inclusion of older modalities like extracellular matrix agents, chemoembolization, and efflux pump inhibition.

Main Results:

• Various treatment strategies have shown mixed success in overcoming tumor resistance.
• Pharmacokinetic approaches offer potential to diminish or reverse molecular pharmacodynamic resistance.
• Intratumoral pharmacokinetics are crucial for understanding treatment efficacy.

Conclusions:

• Pharmacokinetic strategies are vital for enhancing anticancer drug efficacy in solid tumors.
• Re-evaluating treatment modalities based on their impact on intratumoral pharmacokinetics may improve outcomes.
• Optimizing drug delivery and retention within tumors is key to overcoming resistance.