Title:Developing Novel Drug Candidates and Repurposed Drugs for Prostate Cancer Based on Molecular Profiles
Volume: 28
Issue: 40
Author(s): Marika Mokou, Maria Frantzi, Harald Mischak, Antonia Vlahou and Agnieszka Latosinska*
Affiliation:
- Department of Biomarker Research, Mosaiques Diagnostics GmbH, Hannover,Germany
Keywords:
Drug candidates, drug repurposing, molecular signature, -omics, personalized medicine, prostate cancer.
Abstract: Prostate cancer (PCa) carries a growing burden on society. Lack of curative
treatment and poor prognosis among patients with advanced PCa imply an urgent need
for novel and improved drug identification. This is hampered by the disease's high molecular
heterogeneity and complex molecular pathophysiology, resulting in drugs being efficient
in a few patients and cancer developing resistance to treatment. De novo drug discovery
has proven to be complex and challenging. Along with technological advancements
(mainly linked to –omics approaches) that allow for comprehensive characterization
of the molecular changes underlying disease, and considering respective developments
in bioinformatics, computational drug repurposing has emerged as a promising approach
to shorten the way from discovery to clinical application and address the disease
molecular complexity. With this article, we aimed at reviewing recent studies in which
drugs/ compounds for PCa were defined through the investigation of molecular profiling
(-omics) data and the application of drug repurposing strategies. A brief overview of the
technical requirements and associated challenges with the latter are also provided. For
that purpose, a literature search was conducted using the PubMed database. Numerous
drugs/ compounds have been proposed as potential PCa therapeutics, mostly based on
the investigation of genomics and transcriptomics data. In most cases, further assessment
in disease models is required. Since ultimately proteins are targeted by drugs, expanding
on the use of proteomics profiling data (alone or in combination with other –omics) is expected
to advance further defining new/repurposed drugs for PCa.
