Cited by 92Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors ResearchEpigenetics and DNA MethylationCancer, Lipids, and Metabolism

Combining histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) with other therapies for cancer therapy

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Zhou, Mengjiao, Yuan, Minjian, Zhang, Meng, Lei, Chenyi, Aras, Omer, Zhang, Xiaohong, An, Feifei·2021·European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry

Abstract

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) play an important role in regulating the expression of genes involved in tumorigenesis and tumor maintenance, and hence they have been considered as key targets in cancer therapy. As a novel category of antitumor agents, histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) can induce cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and differentiation in cancer cells, ultimately combating cancer. Although in the United States, the use of HDACis for the treatment of certain cancers has been approved, the therapeutic efficacy of HDACis as a single therapeutic agent in solid tumorshas been unsatisfactory and drug resistance may yet occur. To enhance therapeutic efficacy and limit drug resistance, numerous combination therapies involving HDACis in synergy with other antitumor therapies have been studied. In this review, we describe the classification of HDACs. Moreover, we summarize the antitumor mechanism of the HDACis for targeting key cellular processes of cancers (cell cycle, apoptosis, angiogenesis, DNA repair, and immune response). In addition, we outline the major developments of other antitumor therapies in combination with HDACis, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, phototherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. Finally, we discuss the current state and challenges of HDACis-drugs combinations in future clinical studies, with the aim of optimizing the antitumor effect of such combinations.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.ejmech.2021.113825

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  • There is increasing evidence that KDAC inhibitors work best in combination with other therapies.

    “There is increasing evidence that KDAC inhibitors work best in combination with other therapies [28–30]”

    From Acetylation: a new target for protein degradation in cancer (2025) · cites this paper as [30]

    The 'HDACis as anticancer agents for combination therapy' section reports enhanced effects from combinations in preclinical trials, and the Conclusions describe growing mechanistic evidence of synergy. But 'work best' overstates the evidence: the Conclusions also say that clinical-trial efficacy of HDACi combination therapy remains unsatisfactory. Page numbers were not provided in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Authors
Zhou, M., Yuan, M., Zhang, M., Lei, C., Aras, O., Zhang, X., & An, F.
Affiliations
  • Nantong University (CN)
  • Xi'an Jiaotong University (CN)
  • Soochow University (CN)
Corresponding author
  • Zhang, Meng
  • Zhang, Xiaohong
  • An, Feifei
Venue
European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2021-12
Volume
226
Pages
113825
ISSN
0223-5234 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3198386720
Cited by
92
References
170
Citations by year
2026: 16 · 2025: 24 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 2
FWCI
4.08
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Cancer Institute (P30CA008748)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors Research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Epigenetics and DNA Methylation
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › Cancer, Lipids, and Metabolism
Keywords
histone deacetylase inhibitors, combination cancer therapy, drug resistance, cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, angiogenesis, DNA repair, immune response, combination chemotherapy, combined radiotherapy, phototherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, anticancer mechanism
MeSH terms
Antineoplastic Agents, Cell Cycle, Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor, Histone Deacetylases, Humans, Molecular Structure, Apoptosis, Cell Proliferation, Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors

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