There is a rapidly growing degree of global interest in the field of drug repurposing in oncology among members of the public and from some policy makers. Drug repurposing is here defined as the reuse of drugs as anticancer therapies. 

The promise of repurposing is that drugs with low toxicity and relatively low costs can be made available to patients in a rapidly reduced time-frame compared to the development of totally new drugs.

In the last two or three years there has been an apparent increase in the number of publications and clinical studies in this area.

However, the true scale of this increased level of research on the topic is currently unknown.

Now a new joint project between the Anticancer Fund (ACF), based in Belgium, and the Institute of Cancer Policy (ICP), King’s College London aims to change that.

The ACF both publishes research on potential repurposed drugs such as the anti-angina drug nitroglycerin and supports clinical trials using them, such as the Nitro-Maastro trial of chemoradiation and nitroglycerin in lung cancer (NCT01210378).

The ICP is a leader in delivering high impact Commissions into major policy issues, from Affordable Cancer Care in High Income Countries, to regional studies of cancer policy in emerging economies and, most recently, new Commissions on Global Surgery and Health, Equity and Women’s Cancers.

This new analysis will bring the advanced tools and algorithms for which the ICP is internationally known to bear on an area of research in which the ACF has been a key player, particularly with regards to its role in the Repurposing Drugs in Oncology (ReDO) project.

The aim of the ICP-ACF joint study, due to complete by the end of 2016, is to identify trends in the repurposing research activity and impact, to describe its geographical spread and to look at the relative funding compared to other areas of research in cancer.

Prof Richard Sullivan, Director ICP stated that: ‘Understanding who, where and what research is being conducted into drug repurposing for cancer treatment is essential for guiding policy-makers and funders to support the development of this critical, but often overlooked, area of drug development’

Lydie Meheus, Managing Director of the Anticancer Fund commented that:  ‘This study will be used to convince policy makers and philanthropic research communities of the potential value of this type of independent research.  The ultimate goal is to offer more beneficial treatment options to patients in need today, particularly for groups with high unmet needs, such as those with rare cancers, paediatric cancers and patients with metastatic and treatment-resistant disease.’

ecancer is a proud supporter of both the ReDO initiative and the ICP.  "ecancer is committed to developing affordable cancer care in all emerging countries," says Prof Gordon McVie, Visiting Professor at King’s College London and Founding Editor of ecancer.  "We have great pleasure therefore in partnering ReDO in disseminating news from their important and innovative project. A success with even one of their repurposed drugs would have a significant impact on improving cancer care in India, Africa or South America, as well as in the developed world."

Read all of ecancer’s ReDO articles for free:

http://ecancer.org/journal/editorial/40-recycling-existing-drugs-for-cancer-therapy-delivering-low-cost-cancer-care.php
http://ecancer.org/journal/8/full/442-the-repurposing-drugs-in-oncology-redo-project.php
http://ecancer.org/journal/8/full/443-repurposing-drugs-in-oncology-redo-mebendazole-as-an-anti-cancer-agent.php
http://ecancer.org/journal/8/full/485-repurposing-drugs-in-oncology-redo-cimetidine-as-an-anti-cancer-agent.php
http://ecancer.org/journal/9/full/513-repurposing-drugs-in-oncology-redo-clarithromycin-as-an-anti-cancer-agent.php
http://ecancer.org/journal/9/full/521-repurposing-drugs-in-oncology-redo-itraconazole-as-an-anti-cancer-agent.php
http://ecancer.org/journal/9/full/568-repurposing-drugs-in-oncology-redo-nitroglycerin-as-an-anti-cancer-agent.php
http://ecancer.org/journal/10/full/610-repurposing-drugs-in-oncology-redo-diclofenac-as-an-anti-cancer-agent.php