Abstract
Drug “repurposing” is the process of finding new therapeutic indications for existing drugs, and can be considered as a more efficient and realistic strategy for the design of therapies against rare diseases than the current efforts to develop targeted-drugs. In this review, we explore the difficulties related to the identification and development of tailored therapies for individual patients with sarcomas, which are relatively rare diseases characterized by an extreme genetic and histologic variability. Overall, sarcomas comprise about 1% of all adult tumors and 10% of pediatric cancers. They are conventionally divided in bone and soft-tissue sarcomas, considering their site of origin. However, each group is highly heterogeneous and recent global characterization of their genetic alterations has clearly identified the existence of peculiarities that render these group of tumors even more “orphan” for pharmaceutical companies to develop and market specific- targeted drugs. The present review highlights key examples of molecular targets identification in bone sarcomas, reexamining the history of insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGF-IR) and its role in physiology and in cancer as well as developments regarding phase I to II clinical trials of agents directed against this receptor. The IGF system is quite complex, with many players in the field. Insulin receptor function in cancer cells has certainly been underestimated, but also little attention was paid to the type of ligands that are mainly involved in each tumor type. Strategies considering the system in its complex are encouraged and, in this context, drugs aimed at reducing circulating insulin levels, such as metformin, should receive attention as potential anti-cancer agents.
Keywords: Sarcomas, insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system, metformin, targeted therapies, rare diseases.
Current Pharmaceutical Design
Title:Designing Novel Therapies Against Sarcomas in the Era of Personalized Medicine and Economic Crisis
Volume: 19 Issue: 30
Author(s): Maria Cristina Manara, Cecilia Garofalo, Stefano Ferrari, Antonino Belfiore and Katia Scotlandi
Affiliation:
Keywords: Sarcomas, insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system, metformin, targeted therapies, rare diseases.
Abstract: Drug “repurposing” is the process of finding new therapeutic indications for existing drugs, and can be considered as a more efficient and realistic strategy for the design of therapies against rare diseases than the current efforts to develop targeted-drugs. In this review, we explore the difficulties related to the identification and development of tailored therapies for individual patients with sarcomas, which are relatively rare diseases characterized by an extreme genetic and histologic variability. Overall, sarcomas comprise about 1% of all adult tumors and 10% of pediatric cancers. They are conventionally divided in bone and soft-tissue sarcomas, considering their site of origin. However, each group is highly heterogeneous and recent global characterization of their genetic alterations has clearly identified the existence of peculiarities that render these group of tumors even more “orphan” for pharmaceutical companies to develop and market specific- targeted drugs. The present review highlights key examples of molecular targets identification in bone sarcomas, reexamining the history of insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGF-IR) and its role in physiology and in cancer as well as developments regarding phase I to II clinical trials of agents directed against this receptor. The IGF system is quite complex, with many players in the field. Insulin receptor function in cancer cells has certainly been underestimated, but also little attention was paid to the type of ligands that are mainly involved in each tumor type. Strategies considering the system in its complex are encouraged and, in this context, drugs aimed at reducing circulating insulin levels, such as metformin, should receive attention as potential anti-cancer agents.
Export Options
About this article
Cite this article as:
Manara Cristina Maria, Garofalo Cecilia, Ferrari Stefano, Belfiore Antonino and Scotlandi Katia, Designing Novel Therapies Against Sarcomas in the Era of Personalized Medicine and Economic Crisis, Current Pharmaceutical Design 2013; 19 (30) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1381612811319300004
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1381612811319300004 |
Print ISSN 1381-6128 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1873-4286 |
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
"Tuberculosis Prevention, Diagnosis and Drug Discovery"
The Nobel Prize-winning discoveries of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and streptomycin have enabled an appropriate diagnosis and an effective treatment of tuberculosis (TB). Since then, many newer diagnosis methods and drugs have been saving millions of lives. Despite advances in the past, TB is still a leading cause of infectious disease mortality ...read more
Current Pharmaceutical challenges in the treatment and diagnosis of neurological dysfunctions
Neurological dysfunctions (MND, ALS, MS, PD, AD, HD, ALS, Autism, OCD etc..) present significant challenges in both diagnosis and treatment, often necessitating innovative approaches and therapeutic interventions. This thematic issue aims to explore the current pharmaceutical landscape surrounding neurological disorders, shedding light on the challenges faced by researchers, clinicians, and ...read more
Emerging and re-emerging diseases
Faced with a possible endemic situation of COVID-19, the world has experienced two important phenomena, the emergence of new infectious diseases and/or the resurgence of previously eradicated infectious diseases. Furthermore, the geographic distribution of such diseases has also undergone changes. This context, in turn, may have a strong relationship with ...read more
Melanoma and Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer Treatment: Standard of Care and Recent Advances
In this thematic issue, we aim to provide a standard of care of the diagnosis and treatment of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer. The editor will invite authors from different countries who will write review articles of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers. The Diagnosis, Staging, Surgical Treatment, Non-Surgical Treatment all ...read more
- Author Guidelines
- Graphical Abstracts
- Fabricating and Stating False Information
- Research Misconduct
- Post Publication Discussions and Corrections
- Publishing Ethics and Rectitude
- Increase Visibility of Your Article
- Archiving Policies
- Peer Review Workflow
- Order Your Article Before Print
- Promote Your Article
- Manuscript Transfer Facility
- Editorial Policies
- Allegations from Whistleblowers
- Announcements
Related Articles
-
Current Bioactive Azole-Containing Natural Products
Current Bioactive Compounds Prospects of Bacteriotherapy with Nanotechnology in Nanoparticledrug Conjugation Approach for Cancer Therapy
Current Medicinal Chemistry Targeting BCR-ABL Oncoprotein for Leukemia Therapy: Current Biotechnology and Future Perspectives
Current Biotechnology Aptamers: Potential Applications to Pancreatic Cancer Therapy
Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry Secondary Radiation-Induced Bone Tumours Demonstrate a High Degree of Genomic Instability Predictive of a Poor Prognosis
Current Genomics An Unexpected Diagnosis of Liver Metastases on a Bone Scan
Current Radiopharmaceuticals Protein Tyrosine Signaling and its Potential Therapeutic Implications in Carcinogenesis
Current Pharmaceutical Design Drug-induced Cardiac Mitochondrial Toxicity and Protection: From Doxorubicin to Carvedilol
Current Pharmaceutical Design From Natural Products to Designer Drugs: Development and Molecular Mechanisms Action of Novel Anti-Microtubule Breast Cancer Therapeutics
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry Effects of Altered Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 Expression on Cardiovascular Disease
Current Drug Targets Fertility Preservation in Women After the Cancer
Current Pharmaceutical Design Role of Transforming Growth Factor Beta in Corneal Function, Biology and Pathology
Current Molecular Medicine Role of ABC Transporters in Veterinary Medicine: Pharmaco- Toxicological Implications
Current Medicinal Chemistry Coding and Non-coding: Molecular Portrait of GIST and its Clinical Implication
Current Molecular Medicine The Crosstalk of RAS with the TGF-β Family During Carcinoma Progression and its Implications for Targeted Cancer Therapy
Current Cancer Drug Targets Metabolite Quantification in Tumours by Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy: Objectives, Results and Perspectives
Current Medical Imaging Mechanisms of Resistance to Photodynamic Therapy
Current Medicinal Chemistry Exploiting Novel Cell Cycle Targets in the Development of Anticancer Agents
Current Cancer Drug Targets Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase Signaling as a Therapeutic Target for Cervical Cancer
Current Cancer Drug Targets Fibroblast Growth Factor-2 Antagonist and Antiangiogenic Activity of Long-Pentraxin 3-Derived Synthetic Peptides
Current Pharmaceutical Design