A View on Drug Development for Cancer Prevention

Andrew R Reynolds1, Michele Moschetta1, Alula R Yohannes2

  • 1Oncology R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Cancer Discovery
|April 17, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Developing new medicines for cancer prevention is crucial. This review outlines key strategies to accelerate the availability of cancer preventive drugs, addressing unmet needs and improving patient identification for better outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Pharmacology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Limited number of approved agents for cancer prevention despite significant public health benefits.
  • Recent advances in early detection and treatment modalities necessitate a re-evaluation of cancer prevention drug development.

Approach:

  • Reviewing progress in the development of medicines for cancer prevention.
  • Outlining key concepts to enable and accelerate future drug development.

Key Points:

  • Unmet clinical need in cancer prevention.
  • Improved patient identification and risk stratification.
  • Pharmacological interventions and optimized clinical trial designs.
  • Consideration of healthcare policy to support drug development.

Conclusions:

  • Addressing the outlined key themes can significantly increase the number of available medicines for cancer prevention.
  • A multi-faceted approach integrating scientific, clinical, and policy strategies is essential for advancing cancer prevention drug development.

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