Suneeti Madhavan
The amount spent on cancer medication has doubled in the last five years. With the average cost of a new drug released in the market being $100,000 in 2017, it is no surprise that the costs for cancer treatment are exorbitant. Even the newer cancer medications are not always successful. Hence there is a need to find chemotherapeutic agents which are more economical and attainable to patients. Repurposing drugs from other non-cancer treatments may prove to be the fastest and most affordable choice. Medications from non-cancer treatments may have secondary targets which can be exploited for the treatment of cancer. This review focusses on four different classes of drugs for the treatment of lung cancer: antibiotics, anti-depressants, anti-psychotics and anti-parasitic. Candidates from each of these classes are chosen through computational and bioinformatic methods by analyzing the modes of action and determining their secondary targets. The scope of drug repurposing and their use in lung cancer therapy is discussed in this article.
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