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Updated: Feb 7, 2026
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Drug Repurposing Hypothesis Generation Using the "RE:fine Drugs" System
Published on: December 11, 2016
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Drug Repurposing in the Development of Anticancer Agents
Sureyya Olgen1, Lakshmi P Kotra2,3,4
1Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Biruni University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Current Medicinal Chemistry
|July 17, 2018
Summary
Drug repurposing for cancer treatment is a growing field, leveraging existing generic drugs with established safety profiles. This strategy capitalizes on off-target drug effects for novel therapeutic applications in diverse cancers.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Pharmacology
- Drug Development
Background:
- Drug repurposing for cancer treatment is an expanding research area, fueled by successful examples.
- Generic drugs are often prioritized for repurposing due to ease of clinical trials and known safety profiles.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review anticancer drug development strategies, focusing on drug restructuring and repurposing.
- To provide an overview of the landscape of repurposed drugs in oncology.
Main Methods:
- Classification of repurposed drugs based on their pharmacological actions.
- Evaluation of the clinical successes and failures of key repurposed drugs as anticancer agents.
Main Results:
- Identified numerous repurposed drugs with potential anticancer efficacy.
- Highlighted both successful and unsuccessful cases of drug repurposing in cancer therapy.
Conclusions:
- Off-target drug effects can be strategically utilized for therapeutic benefit in cancer treatment.
- The heterogeneity of cancer necessitates diverse therapeutic targets, making drug repurposing a viable strategy for identifying agents that interfere with these targets.
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