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Drug Repurposing and DNA Damage in Cancer Treatment: Facts and Misconceptions
Eleni Sertedaki1, Athanassios Kotsinas1
1Molecular Carcinogenesis Group, Lab Histology-Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece.
Abstract:
Drug repurposing appears to offer an attractive alternative in finding new anticancer agents. Their applicability seems to have multiple benefits, among which are the potential of immediate efficacy assessment in clinical trials and the existence of patient safety and tolerability evidence. Nevertheless, their effective application in terms of tumor-type targeting requires accurate knowledge of their exact mechanism of action. In this review, we present such a successful drug, namely Disulfiram (commercially known as Antabuse), and discuss its recently uncovered mode of anticancer action through DNA damage.
Insights
Drug repurposing offers new anticancer agents. Disulfiram (Antabuse) shows anticancer effects by causing DNA damage, a newly uncovered mechanism.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Pharmacology
- Drug Discovery
Background:
- Drug repurposing is a viable strategy for identifying novel anticancer agents.
- Repurposed drugs offer benefits like faster clinical trial efficacy assessment and established safety profiles.
- Targeting specific tumor types requires a deep understanding of drug mechanisms of action.
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