• Drugs effective against specific genetic alterations involved in diabetes, angina or many other conditions are now being investigated as potential anti-cancer therapies



• First promising results with immunotherapy in lung cancer clinical trials



Barcelona, ​​February 2014 - Cancer is a broad term used to describe a group of diseases with different prognoses and treatments. Thanks to growing understanding of cancer molecular biology, we know that many tumors that originate in different parts of the body (lung, breast, liver, etc.) may share genetic characteristics. Therefore, an effective treatment against one type of cancer can also be used against another. As noted by Dr. Santiago Viteri, Clinical Coordinator and Medical Oncologist the Dr. Rosell Oncology Institute, Quirón Dexeus University Hospital, Barcelona "Advances are occurring all the time and often allow us to apply a customized treatment oriented towards the genetic characteristics of each patient's tumor."



However, the development of anti-cancer drugs is a long and expensive process, and researchers are continually seeking new ways to provide effective and affordable treatments to medical oncologists and their patients. One of these emerging strategies is the re-evaluation of drugs approved for a range of common diseases or conditions 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 different diseases share common genetic origins. "Therefore, drugs effective against specific genetic alterations related to diabetes, angina, or many other conditions, are now being investigated as potential anti-cancer therapies. For example, statins are drugs used to lower cholesterol which have also demonstrated the potential in clinical trials to inhibit the Rac1 gene mutation which is involved in non microcrítico lung cancer and melanoma. Therefore, a wide range of drugs originally classified as sedatives, anti-arthritic immunosuppressive, or cardioprotective, among others, could soon be repositioned for the treatment of cancer, quickly and safely expanding the range of available treatment options."



Our own immune system, a powerful weapon against cancer



Another promising novel approach in the fight against cancer is immunotherapy, which stimulates the patient's immune system to recognize and eliminate the tumor. "Inhibition of the signaling pathway of programmed cell death protein -1 (PD-1) with effective monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against PD-1 or its ligand PD-L1 has been shown to be an effective method of causing tumor regression in patients with advanced disease. Although these therapies are still under development, clinical trials have shown positive results in kidney cancer and melanoma, tumor types in which immunotherapy had already been proved to be effective", explains Dr. Viteri. More recently, there have also been durable responses to immunotherapy in patients with bladder, head and neck, and lung cancer (this last has always been thought to be resistant to immunotherapy).



"The chances of successfully treating cancer depend largely on finding the appropriate therapy, or combination of therapies, for each patient," says Dr Viteri. Today, the classical morphological features are becoming less important when deciding the therapeutic approach, "knowing the genetic characteristics of the tumor is what allows us to select the best treatment for each patient".