Repurposing drugs targeting metabolic diseases for cancer therapeutics
Abstract
Hurdles in the identification of new drugs for cancer treatment have made drug repurposing an increasingly appealing alternative. The approach involves the use of old drugs for new therapeutic purposes. It is cost-effective and facilitates rapid clinical translation. Given that cancer is also considered a metabolic disease, drugs for metabolic disorders are being actively repurposed for cancer therapeutics. In this review, we discuss the repurposing of such drugs approved for two major metabolic diseases, diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD), which have shown potential as anti-cancer treatment. We also highlight the current understanding of the cancer signaling pathways that these drugs target.
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Less than 1% of compounds are expected to enter clinical trials, let alone reach the market.
“Despite these investments, less than 1% of compounds are expected to enter clinical trials, let alone reach the market.13–15”
From Drug repurposing for cancer therapy (2024) · cites this paper as [14]
It takes 10-15 years and costs $1-2 billion to produce a new drug approved for clinical use.
“As such, it takes 10–15 years and costs $1–2 billion to produce a new drug approved for clinical use.”
From Drug repurposing for cancer therapy (2024) · cites this paper as [14]
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Drug repurposing for cancer therapy
Xia, Y., Sun, M., Huang, H., & Jin, W.-L. (2024) · Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy · doi:10.1038/s41392-024-01808-1 · Cited by 443 · see citing works
- Authors
- Pillai U, J., Ray, A., Maan, M., & Dutta, M.
- Affiliations
- Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani - Dubai Campus (AE)
- New York University Abu Dhabi (AE)
- Corresponding author
- Maan, Meenu
- Dutta, Mainak
- Venue
- Drug Discovery Today
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2023-09
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 103684
- ISSN
- 1359-6446 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4382051786
- Cited by
- 31
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 4
- FWCI
- 0.82
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Drug Discovery Today (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Metabolism, Diabetes, and Cancer
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › Cancer, Hypoxia, and Metabolism
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › Cancer, Lipids, and Metabolism
- Keywords
- drug repurposing, cancer therapeutics, metabolic disorders, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, anticancer agents, cancer pathways
- MeSH terms
- Cardiovascular Diseases, Humans, Metabolic Diseases, Neoplasms, Drug Repositioning
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