Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 28, 2025

Acupoint Application Combined with Acupressure as an Adjunctive Therapy for Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting
Published on: June 21, 2024
Multifaceted effect of chlorpromazine in cancer: implications for cancer treatment
Pareesa Kamgar-Dayhoff1, Tinatin I Brelidze1
1Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, D.C., USA.
Abstract:
Since its discovery in 1951, chlorpromazine (CPZ) has been one of the most widely used antipsychotic medications for treating schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders. In addition to its antipsychotic effect, many studies in the last several decades have found that CPZ has a potent antitumorigenic effect. These studies have shown that CPZ affects a number of molecular oncogenic targets through multiple pathways, including the regulation of cell cycle, cancer growth and metastasis, chemo-resistance and stemness of cancer cells. Here we review studies on molecular mechanisms of CPZ's action on key proteins involved in cancer, including p53, YAP, Ras protein, ion channels, and MAPKs. We discuss common and overlapping signaling pathways of CPZ's action, its cancer-type specificity, antitumorigenic effects of CPZ reported in animal models and population studies on the rate of cancer in psychiatric patients. We also discuss the potential benefits and limitations of repurposing CPZ for cancer treatment.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: Dopamine Receptor Antagonists
Phenothiazines, such as prochlorperazine...
Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: 5-HT3 Receptor Antagonists
Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: Cannabinoids
Two synthetic agonists of THC,...
Combination Therapies and Personalized Medicine
The combination of the drug acetazolamide and sulforaphane is a good example of combination therapy to treat cancer. The cells in the interior of a large tumor often die due to the hypoxic and...
Cancer Therapies
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...
Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: Neurokinin-1 Receptor Antagonists

