Drug classes targeting cancer hallmarks Flashcards
What drug class is used to prevent sustained proliferative signalling of cancer?
EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) inhibitors
Why are EGFR inhibitor drugs used to prevent sustained proliferative signalling of cancer?
EGFR promotes cell growth of epithelial tissue, so inhibiting this will prevent cancer from growing
Give 4 examples of EGFR inhibitor drugs?
Cetuximab, Erlotinib, Gefitinib, Panitumumab
What drug class is used to prevent cancer from evading growth suppressors?
Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors (CDKIs)
How do CDKIs prevent cancer from evading growth suppressors?
CDKIs stop cell cycle progression by inhibiting CDK/cyclin complexes
What drug class is used to prevent cancer evading immune system?
Immune activating anti-CTLA4 mAb (Ipilimumab)
Why is Immune activating anti-CTLA4 mAb used to prevent immune system evasion by cancer?
It uses monoclonal anti-CTLA4 antibodies to target CTLA-4, which is a protein receptor that downregulates immune system
What drug class is used to prevent replicative immortality of cancer?
Telomerase inhibitor drugs
Why are telomerase inhibitor drugs used to prevent replicative immortality of cancer?
Telomerase (upregulated in cancer) will be downregulated by the drug, so telomeres won’t elongate when the cancer cell divides, leading to the cancer cell deterioration
What drug class is used to prevent tumour-promoting inflammation?
Selective anti-inflammatory drugs
What drug class is used to prevent invasion and metastasis of cancer?
HGF/c-Met inhibitor drugs
Why are HGF/c-Met inhibitor drugs used to prevent invasion and metastasis of cancer?
Inhibits HGF/c-Met pathway, which is a pathway used for cancer progression
What drug class is used to prevent angiogenesis induction by cancer?
VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) signalling inhibitors
What drug class is used to prevent mutation and genome instability of cancer?
PARP inhibitors
Why are PARP inhibitors used to prevent mutation and genome instability in cancer?
PARP is an enzyme that helps damaged cells repair breaks in DNA. PARP inhibitors prevent repair of breaks in cancer cells with mutations, so they can’t divide and will die
