Current Drug Targets - Volume 17, Issue 7, 2016

Emerging immunotherapies targeting immune checkpoints and tumor associated antigens are leading to important clinical advances and providing a new weapon in patients with prostate (PCa) and bladder cancer (BC) and, in particular, with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The possibility to integrate these agents in the current therapeutic scenario or genitourinary tumors, both in sequential or combined approaches, relies on a more Read More

Bladder cancer treatment, namely systemic therapy, was dominated in the last three decades due to the absence of newer therapeutic options other than chemotherapy regimens. Chemotherapy, by itself, both in first and second-line seems to have achieved the modest plateau of its possibilities at the cost of non-negligible toxicity. Targeted therapies, which changed the therapy of many different tumors, seem rather i Read More

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is one of the most immunoresponsive human cancers. High-dose IL-2 and Interferon-α were once the principle therapies for metastatic RCC, however they had harsh-tolerance profiles and limited response rates. In the last decade, targeted therapies have supplanted cytokine therapy due to higher response rates and more favorable toxicity profiles. Emerging immunotherapies targeting th Read More

Innate and adaptive immunity are both involved in prostate cancer (PCa) carcinogenesis and progression. On this scenario, several immunotherapeutic approaches have been proposed and are presently under extensive investigation in PCa patients. Among emerging immune targets, immune checkpoint inhibitors such as anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyteassociated protein 4 (CTLA-4), anti-Programmed death-1 (PD- Read More

Sorafenib is a small molecular inhibitor of intracellular tyrosine and serine/threonine protein kinases (VEGFR, PDGFR, CRAF and BRAF), and is thought also to induce autophagy, a chief mechanism influencing tumor growth. Sorafenib shows efficacy in the management of non-resectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is refractory to other chemotherapeutic drugs. HCC represents a major end point of chronic liver Read More

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small (19–25 nucleotides) non-coding single-stranded RNAs that control post-transcriptional gene expression. miRNAs are abundantly expressed in the brain, where they play key roles during neuronal differentiation, synaptogenesis, and plasticity. It is also becoming increasingly evident that miRNAs are involved in the etiology of several neurological disorders. Mounting evidence indicates that miRNAs Read More

The carrier technology provides an intelligent approach for drug delivery by entrapping the drug into a carrier, such as nanoparticles, microspheres, hydrogels, and so on, which can increase the bioavailability of drug, enhance targeting, reduce toxicity and side effects of drug. The polysaccharides, e.g., chitosan and its derivatives, as carriers for delivery of chemical drugs and genes or proteins were summed up herein.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a pathophysiological condition characterized by increased pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR), initially due to abnormal pulmonary vasoconstriction in response to endothelial injury. Recent studies confirmed the key role of endothelin (ET)-1 in the vasoconstriction and remodeling of pulmonary microcirculation during PAH. In responders patients, classical treatments for PAH are pro Read More

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is one of the deadliest and most heterogeneous tumors, highly refractory to multimodal therapeutic approach, including surgery, chemo- and radiotherapy. Preclinical and clinical studies exploring the efficacy of drugs targeting tyrosine kinases, angiogenesis and histone deacetylases, did not fulfil the expected clinical benefits. Thus, novel molecular targets should be identified fro Read More