New tricks of old drugs: Repurposing non-chemo drugs and dietary phytochemicals as adjuvants in anti-tumor therapies.

Mei Zhang, Xianfeng Chen, Norbert Radacsi

Journal: Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society 2021;329():96-120

PMID: 33259852

Full Text on Elsevier Science View on PubMed

Abstract

Combination therapy has long been applied to enhance therapeutic effect and deal with the occurrence of multi-drug resistance in cancer treatment. However, the overlapping toxicity of multiple anticancer drugs to healthy tissues and increasing financial burden on patients emerged as major concerns. As promising alternatives to chemo agents, repurposed non-chemo drugs and dietary phytochemicals have been investigated as adjuvants to conventional anti-tumor therapeutics, offering a safe and economic strategy for combination therapy. In this review, we aim to highlight the advances in research about combination therapy using conventional therapeutics and repurposed drugs or phytochemicals for an enhanced anti-tumor efficacy, along with the mechanisms involved in the synergism. Beyond these, we outlined the potential challenges and solutions for clinical translation of the proposed combination therapy, providing a safe and affordable strategy to improve the reach of cancer therapy to low income regions with such new tricks of old drugs.

Address: School of Engineering, Institute for Materials and Processes, University of Edinburgh, Robert Stevenson Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FB, United Kingdom; School of Engineering, Institute for Bioengineering, University of Edinburgh, The King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3JL, United Kingdom. Electronic address: [email protected].; School of Engineering, Institute for Bioengineering, University of Edinburgh, The King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3JL, United Kingdom. Electronic address: [email protected].; School of Engineering, Institute for Materials and Processes, University of Edinburgh, Robert Stevenson Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FB, United Kingdom. Electronic address: [email protected].

DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2020.11.047