The Potential Use of Peptides in Cancer Treatment

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Pharmacology
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Conventional chemotherapy faces challenges including drug resistance, cancer relapse, and secondary malignancies.
• There is a critical need for novel therapeutic agents that selectively target cancer cells, including slow-growing and dormant ones, while bypassing chemoresistance.
• Peptides are emerging as promising candidates due to their low immunogenicity, tissue penetrability, and ease of modification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advances and future prospects of using peptides as therapeutic agents in cancer therapy.
• To discuss the application of peptides in targeted cancer therapy, both as standalone agents and in combination therapies.
• To explore the potential of peptides in molecular imaging for cancer diagnosis and treatment monitoring.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of recent studies on peptide applications in cancer therapy.
• Analysis of peptide properties relevant to cancer treatment, such as stability, activity, and targeting.
• Discussion of challenges associated with peptide drug development and strategies to overcome them.

Main Results:

• Peptides demonstrate potential for selective cancer cell destruction, addressing limitations of conventional chemotherapy.
• Peptide-based therapies can be used alone or in combination with other treatments for enhanced efficacy.
• Peptides show utility as carriers for targeted molecular imaging in cancer diagnosis and follow-up.

Conclusions:

• Peptides represent a promising class of therapeutic agents for targeted cancer therapy.
• Further research and development are warranted to overcome challenges and fully realize the potential of peptide-based cancer treatments.
• Peptides offer a versatile platform for both therapeutic intervention and diagnostic applications in oncology.