BAPST. A Combo of Common Use Drugs as Metabolic Therapy for Cancer: A Theoretical Proposal

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Pharmacology
• Metabolic Research

Background:

• Despite advances, cancer therapy costs remain high, limiting global mortality reduction.
• Existing drug repurposing strategies have not yielded affordable cancer treatments.
• The high cost of novel cancer drugs necessitates exploring alternative, cost-effective therapeutic approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the concept of the malignant metabolic phenotype and its exploitation for cancer therapy.
• To propose a novel drug combination (BAPST) targeting key metabolic pathways in cancer.
• To evaluate the safety and pharmacokinetic profiles of repurposed drugs for a potential combination therapy.

Main Methods:

• Literature review on the malignant metabolic phenotype and its therapeutic targeting.
• Identification and compilation of existing drugs (Benserazide, Apomorphine, Pantoprazole, Simvastatin, Trimetazidine) targeting specific cancer metabolic pathways.
• Assessment of the safety and pharmacokinetic interactions of the selected drugs based on their primary indications.

Main Results:

• The BAPST combination targets glycolysis, glutaminolysis, fatty-acid synthesis, the mevalonate pathway, and fatty-acid oxidation.
• The individual drugs within the BAPST regimen have established safety profiles for their primary indications.
• No predicted pharmacokinetic interactions were identified among the BAPST drugs.

Conclusions:

• The BAPST regimen, comprising repurposed drugs with established safety profiles, represents a promising strategy for targeting cancer metabolism.
• Simultaneous blockade of key metabolic processes in cancer warrants further investigation.
• The BAPST combination merits preclinical testing as a potentially affordable and effective cancer therapy.