Title:Advancements in Cancer Therapeutics: Emerging Agents and Combination Strategies in Drug Discovery
Volume: 11
Author(s): Afzal Hussain*Ashfaq Hussain
Affiliation:
- Department of Bioinformatics, Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal, 462003, India
Keywords:
Targeted therapies, immunotherapy, cancer drug discovery, clinical trials, precision medicine, DNA damage repair.
Abstract: In the last few years, there have been significant advances in cancer agent research,
most of which entered clinical trials after succeeding in initial preclinical studies. Here, we discuss
successful accomplishments in the promising approaches of targeted therapies, immunotherapies,
and combination therapies. The development in these areas includes sotorasib - targeting
the mutation of KRAS for lung and pancreatic cancer and pembrolizumab - an immune
checkpoint inhibitor for melanoma therapy; the latter has been synergistic with chemotherapy. In
addition, exciting results emerge from trials with the DNA damage repair inhibitor olaparib in
BRCA-mutated cancers and the tyrosine kinase inhibitor osimertinib for EGFR-mutant lung cancer.
Bevacizumab continues to establish itself as an evolving therapy in colorectal cancer, and
niraparib enters Phase III in ovarian cancer. New combinations will include alpelisib and PD-1
inhibitors and nanoparticle-based Abraxane for triple-negative breast cancers leading toward
precision medicine. These would improve the survival rates and quality of life in patients with
advanced or refractory malignancies.
