Drug repurposing a compelling cancer strategy with bottomless opportunities: Recent advancements in computational

Rasmita Dash1, Madhulika Yadav2, Jyotirmaya Biswal2

  • 1Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Siksha 'O' Anusandhan (Deemed to be University); Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.

PubMed

Insights

Drug repurposing offers a faster, cheaper way to find new cancer treatments. This approach explores existing non-oncology drugs and plant compounds for novel anticancer applications, overcoming limitations of current therapies.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Pharmacology
  • Drug Discovery

Background:

  • Traditional de novo drug design is costly and time-consuming.
  • Current oncology drug efficacy faces challenges, necessitating alternative strategies.
  • Drug repurposing provides a viable avenue for developing new cancer treatments.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the potential of in silico drug repurposing for expanding the anticancer drug arsenal.
  • To explore novel therapeutic targets and signaling pathways for existing non-oncology drugs in cancer treatment.
  • To highlight plant-derived compounds with anticancer properties and their mechanisms.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review focusing on in silico drug repurposing strategies.
  • Analysis of existing non-oncology drugs for potential anticancer applications.
  • Compilation of data on plant-derived compounds with demonstrated anticancer activity.

Main Results:

  • In silico drug repurposing can accelerate the identification of new anticancer agents.
  • Repurposed drugs can overcome limitations of current cancer therapies against various targets.
  • Plant-derived compounds show significant promise as novel anticancer agents.

Conclusions:

  • Drug repurposing, particularly in silico methods, offers a promising strategy to enhance cancer treatment.
  • Exploring non-oncology drugs and natural products can broaden therapeutic options and improve patient outcomes.
  • Further investigation into repurposed drugs and failed clinical trials is crucial for advancing oncology.

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