B. Cancer

Cancer

January 19, 2023

One of the intriguing phenomena with the R&D of anticancer drugs is that many non-anticancer commercial drugs on the market are excellent anticancer candidates and exhibit the potential to outperform existing anticancer drugs, such as those in the categories of pancreatic cancer and NSCLC. Another good opportunity is that clinical practices of many anticancer drugs can be extended to other therapeutic fields, including oncology and others.

Quite a few investigational anticancer drugs in the early phases of clinical trials seldom fit their correct roles. This issue is formed mainly by two reasons: (a) unqualified candidates and (b) wrong targets or wrong target zones including improper solubilities. A current solution is to set up several clinical trials for testing errors of a single candidate. Sooner or later, patients, pharm companies, and taxpayers must pay bills for the unsuccessful efforts. As a result, precious resources are consumed for vague goals, and approaches of this kind appear to be unsustainable in a long run.

To cure cancers, a set of essential improvements should be made as part of cornerstones. Here are some examples:

  • Replacement of anticancer drugs low in performance by optimized candidates in terms of their capabilities of inhibiting tumor growth and anchoring on target zones.

  • Enlargement of the coverage of target zones where tumors exist and grow through the drugs in the same family with different solubilities.

  • Utilization of the drugs with multiple relevant target zones on the path of metastasis of tumor cells as prevention and treatment means.

  • The clarification and then the classification of present commercial anticancer drugs, based on their fundamental therapeutic mechanisms with clinical practices of many years.

  • Development of new diagnostic technologies centered on lessons learned from treatments of cancers with patients for better clinical practices in the coming future.

Despite significant progress in this field, curing cancers or making them manageable is still one of the biggest challenges that humans have been facing. It is about time to move forward to a new arena by employing the solid foundation paved by scientists and medical professionals worldwide over decades.