Repurposing Old Drugs into New Epigenetic Inhibitors: Promising Candidates for Cancer Treatment?

authors	Moreira-Silva, F; Camilo, V; Gaspar, V; Mano, JE; Henrique, R; Jeronimo, C
nationality	International
journal	PHARMACEUTICS
author keywords	cancer; prostate cancer; CRPC; drug repurposing; epigenetic; epi-drugs
keywords	HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR; TUMOR-SUPPRESSOR GENES; PROSTATE-CANCER; DNA METHYLATION; MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES; TRICHOSTATIN-A; DEMETHYLASE 1; CELL-DEATH; EXPRESSION; APICIDIN
abstract	Epigenetic alterations, as a cancer hallmark, are associated with cancer initiation, progression and aggressiveness. Considering, however, that these alterations are reversible, drugs that target epigenetic machinery may have an inhibitory effect upon cancer treatment. The traditional drug discovery pathway is time-consuming and expensive, and thus, new and more effective strategies are required. Drug Repurposing (DR) comprises the discovery of a new medical indication for a drug that is approved for another indication, which has been recalled, that was not accepted or failed to prove efficacy. DR presents several advantages, mainly reduced resources, absence of the initial target discovery process and the reduced time necessary for the drug to be commercially available. There are numerous old drugs that are under study as repurposed epigenetic inhibitors which have demonstrated promising results in in vitro tumor models. Herein, we summarize the DR process and explore several repurposed drugs with different epigenetic targets that constitute promising candidates for cancer treatment, highlighting their mechanisms of action.
publisher	MDPI
isbn	1999-4923
year published	2020
volume	12
issue	5
digital object identifier (doi)	10.3390/pharmaceutics12050410
web of science category	Pharmacology & Pharmacy
subject category	Pharmacology & Pharmacy
unique article identifier	WOS:000543393700006