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Combination Therapies in Drug Repurposing: Personalized Approaches to Combatting Leukaemia and Multiple Myeloma

B Monchusi1,2, P Dube1,3, M M Takundwa1

  • 1Synthetic Nanobiotechnology and Biomachines, Synthetic Biology and Precision Medicine Centre, Future production Chemicals Cluster, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria, South Africa.

Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology
|April 25, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Drug repurposing offers a promising strategy to overcome challenges in treating leukemia and multiple myeloma, particularly drug resistance. Tailored combination therapies with repurposed drugs can improve patient outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Pharmacology
  • Drug Discovery

Background:

  • Cancer treatment faces challenges including drug resistance, heterogeneity, and limited efficacy in relapsed/refractory cases.
  • Drugs approved for non-cancer indications show potential in cancer therapy with known safety profiles.
  • Drug repurposing presents a viable strategy to address unmet needs in oncology.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine treatment challenges in leukemia and multiple myeloma.
  • To explore the role of drug repurposing in overcoming therapeutic resistance and disease variability.
  • To highlight the potential of personalized combination therapies using repurposed drugs.

Main Methods:

  • Review of current literature on cancer treatment challenges.
  • Analysis of drug repurposing strategies in oncology.
  • Focus on leukemia and multiple myeloma treatment paradigms.

Main Results:

  • Drug repurposing demonstrates anti-proliferative, anti-metastatic, and immunomodulatory effects.
  • Repurposed drugs offer established safety profiles and mechanisms of action.
  • Personalized, tailored combination therapies can enhance treatment efficacy.

Conclusions:

  • Drug repurposing holds significant promise for treating leukemia and multiple myeloma.
  • Overcoming resistance and variability requires innovative therapeutic approaches.
  • Repurposed drugs can lead to more targeted, cost-efficient, and effective cancer treatments.
Keywords:
Combination therapiesDrug repurposingLeukaemiaMultiple myelomaPersonalized medicine

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