Title:Repurposing some of the Well-known Non-steroid Anti-inflammatory
Drugs (NSAIDs) for Cancer Treatment
Volume: 23
Issue: 13
Author(s): Sofia Martins Sousa, Cristina Pinto Ribeiro Xavier, Maria Helena Vasconcelos*Andreia Palmeira*
Affiliation:
- i3S - Instituto de
Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen 208, Porto, 4200-135, Portugal
- Cancer
Drug Resistance Group, IPATIMUP - Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto, Rua
Alfredo Allen 208, Porto, 4200-135, Portugal
- Department of Biological Sciences, FFUP - Faculty of Pharmacy,
University of Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira 228, Porto, 4050-313, Portugal
- LQOF - Laboratory of Organic and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of
Pharmacy, Universidade do Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal
- CIIMAR - Interdisciplinary Centre
of Marine and Environmental Research, Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Matosinhos, 4450-208, Portugal
Keywords:
Anticancer activity, anticancer agents, cancer treatment, drug repurposing, non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs, traditional drug discovery.
Abstract: Drug repurposing is a strategy used to develop new treatments based on approved or investigational
drugs outside the scope of their original clinical indication. Since this approach benefits
from the original toxicity data of the repurposed drugs, the drug-repurposing strategy is timesaving,
and inexpensive. It has a higher success rate compared to traditional drug discovery. Several
repurposing candidates have been identified in silico screening and in vitro methodologies. One of
the best examples is non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Tumor-promoting inflammation
is one of the hallmarks of cancer, revealing a connection between inflammatory processes and
tumor progression and development. This explains why using NSAIDs in the context of neoplasia
has become a topic of interest. Indeed, identifying NSAIDs with antitumor activity has become a
promising strategy for finding novel cancer treatment opportunities. Indeed, several commercial
anti-inflammatory drugs, including aspirin, ibuprofen, diclofenac, celecoxib, tepoxalin and cyclovalone,
naproxen, and indomethacin have presented antitumor activity, and some of them are already
in clinical trials for cancer treatment. However, the benefits and complications of using
NSAIDs for cancer treatment must be carefully evaluated, particularly for cancer patients with no
further therapeutic options available. This review article provides insight into the drug repurposing
strategy and describes some of the well-known NSAIDs that have been investigated as repurposed
drugs with potential anticancer activity.
