NelfinavirA magic bullet to annihilate cancer cells?

摘要

Chemotherapy resistance remains a major obstacle for successful cancer treatment. Thus, the continuous development of new anticancer drugs could help address drug resistance by offering a broader spectrum of alternative anticancer agents. The discovery of new anticancer agents increasingly relies on high-throughput screening in conjunction with systems biology.1 Yet, the process of evaluating ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion) and toxicity remain lengthy processes not shortened by the new massively-parallel technologies. However, the strategy of repositioning FDA approved drugs for cancer treatment as a new indication offers a rapid and inexpensive approach to developing alternative anticancer agents, benefiting from the known pharmacokinetic and toxicological properties.2 Currently numerous novel, target-selective drugs originally not developed for cancer therapy are being studied for a potential role in cancer treatment including, cydooxygenase-2 inhibitors, the oral hypoglycemic rosiglitazone, the immunosuppressant rapamycin, and many others.