Combinatorial Chemistry & High Throughput Screening - Volume 20, Issue 5, 2017

Background & Aim: Cancer is a condition of genetically or environmentally mutated, uncontrollable cell growth that directly affects human morbidity and mortality. Many treatments have been adopted to reduce cancer cell proliferation; however, new mutated developments of some cancer cells have started to show resistance towards current therapies and treatments that cause some drugs to lose their efficacy. Add Read More

Background & Aim: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a malignant disease whose incidence and mortality rates are greatly influenced by environmental factors. Under-treatment of CRC such as a poor diagnostic evaluation, less aggressive surgery, less intensive chemotherapy results in metastasizing of the primary tumor cells and recurrence of cancer. Prolonged chemotherapy treatment against cancer is hazardous to the patients, w Read More

Background: Cancer is a complex disease and a huge threat to human health. The prognosis for some cancer types such as breast cancer has improved dramatically over the past 50 years due to rapid development of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy technologies. However, for many patients bearing unresectable cancers, the prognosis remained poor. For this reason, there is always high demand for newer and Read More

Background & Aim: The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) is the major pathway for degrading the intracellular proteins. The 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Rose, Hershko, and Ciechanover to highlight the fundamental importance of UPS. Method & Results: The alterations in this process have been shown to contribute to the cancer progression. Hence, UPS has become a popular target for developing chemot Read More

Background & Aim: Photosensitizers are key molecules used in photodynamic cancer therapy (PDT), which is an effective therapeutic modality option for several diseases and nononcological disorders. Due to its lower systemic toxicity and its ability to destroy tumors selectively, PDT has been considered as clinical avenue for the treatment of several cancers. Methods & Results: Three essential elements are involved in a Read More

Background: Cancer is a systemic disease. Cancer occurrence is associated with several factors, including cell proliferation, apoptosis, metastasis, tumor microenvironment and immune system. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely used for thousands of years in China for its anti-cancer therapeutic effect. The advantage of using TCM is related to its action on multiple signaling pathways and molecular targets relat Read More

Recently, immunotherapy has attracted more attentions to fight cancer due to its selectivity, long lasting effects, and demonstrated better overall survival and tolerance, when compared to patients treated with conventional chemotherapy or radiotherapy alone. The anti-tumor response of patient with cancer is improved either by increasing the effector cell number, the production of soluble mediators, or by modulating the Read More

The development of new screening models for cancer therapy is indispensable for the improvement of cancer treatment, and for the creation of alternative possibilities in the field of chemotherapy. Screening models are routinely used to reduce the cost and resources involved in anticancer drug development. The value of any screening model will ultimately be ascertained by its ability to reliably predict the clinical response. Read More

Background: Tumour microenvironment is recognized as a major determinant of intrinsic resistance to anticancer therapies. In solid tumour types, such as breast cancer, lung cancer and pancreatic cancer, stromal components provide a fibrotic niche, which promotes stemness, EMT, chemo- and radioresistance of tumour. However, this microenvironment is not recapitulated in the conventional cell monoculture or xenografts, Read More