New Weapons in the Fight Against Cancer

We now know that the term “cancer” does not refer to a single disease, but encompasses a group of conditions with different prognoses and treatments. Thanks to the progressive understanding of the molecular biology of cancer, we now know that a large number of tumors form in different parts of the body (lung, breast, liver, etc.) and may share genetic traits.

Thus, a procedure that is effective against one type of cancer can also be used against another. Innovations are occurring rapidly and make it possible, in most cases, to apply a specific treatment for each patient, oriented to the specific characteristics of each tumor.

However, the improvement of anti-cancer drugs is a long and costly procedure. Researchers are continually examining new procedures to provide effective treatments within the reach of oncology physicians and their patients.

Drugs used for other pathologies are beginning to be used for cancer as well.

One of these emerging strategies is the re-evaluation of drugs already accepted for some diseases and their “repositioning” or “re-use” for the treatment of cancer. This approach has been made possible by the discovery that a wide range of diverse diseases share common genetic origins.

For this reason, drugs effective against specific genetic variations linked to diabetes, angina pectoris or many other traits are now being investigated as potential anti-cancer therapies. For example, statins are cholesterol-lowering drugs that have also shown potential in laboratory experiments to inhibit the Rac1 genetic mutation that drives the development of non-small cell lung cancer and melanoma.

A wide range of drugs originally qualified as sedatives, anti-arthritics, immunosuppressants, cardioprotectants, among many others, could in a short period of time be harnessed for the treatment of cancer, thus rapidly and safely expanding the range of therapeutic options available to physicians and patients.