Molecular-targeted agents combination therapy for cancer: developments and potentials.

Abstract

Although chemotherapy has advanced into the era of targeted drugs, the antitumor efficacies of current therapies are limited, most likely because of the high degree of cancer clonal heterogeneity, intratumor genetic heterogeneity and cell signal complexity. As shutdown of a single target does not necessarily eradicate the cancer, the use of combinations of molecular-targeted agents (MATs) has been proposed, and some pioneering research has been conducted to examine the efficacy of this strategy. In this article, the clinical and preclinical studies that are underway in an attempt to improve the anticancer efficacy of chemotherapies through combination strategies are summarized. Studies of combining cytotoxic agents with MATs, coinhibiting two or more targets in a single pathway or coinhibiting parallel or compensatory pathways as well as specific combinations will be introduced, and the antitumor potentials of each combination strategy will be evaluated.

• Authors: Feifei Li, Changqi Zhao, Lili Wang
• Journal: International journal of cancer (Int J Cancer) Vol. 134 Issue 6 Pg. 1257-69 (Mar 15 2014) ISSN: 1097-0215 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 23649791 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)
• Copyright: © 2013 UICC.

Chemical References

• Neoplasm Proteins

Topics

• Animals
• Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols (therapeutic use)
• Humans
• Molecular Targeted Therapy
• Neoplasm Proteins (antagonists & inhibitors, metabolism)
• Neoplasms (drug therapy)
• Signal Transduction (drug effects)