About this Research Topic

Background

Cancer is considered a multifactorial pathology, whose understanding involves genomic and epigenomic studies supplemented by biochemical, biological, molecular and epidemiological data. Current cancer research strategies are based on the paradigm of "targeted" therapies. Targeted cancer therapies are drugs or other substances that block the growth and spread of cancer by interfering with specific molecules ("molecular targets") that are involved in growth, progression, and spread of cancer. Many targeted cancer therapies have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat specific types of cancer. Others are being studied in advanced clinical trials, and many more are in preclinical and clinical testing. Despite recent progresses in regression or control for a wide variety of tumors, some cancers do not respond to current therapeutic patterns, showing limited 5-year survival rates, high recurrence and frequent relapse and metastases, making them big killers. Indeed, combined efforts between biologists, chemists and oncologists are required to provide novel therapeutic options for patients and to achieve precision medicine based on the molecular integrated metabolic and (epi)genome signature. This special issue aims to exploit recent findings and innovative approaches in chemistry and biochemistry, with particular attention on hormone therapies, signal transduction inhibitors, gene expression modulators, cellular reprogramming, apoptosis inducers, angiogenesis inhibitors, immunotherapies, and toxin delivery molecules. Other valuable approaches are targeted therapies in combination with one or more traditional chemotherapeutic agents, with the goal to reduce the toxicity and increase the efficacy of anticancer treatments. A big deal of results has been published regarding cancers and their treatments thus representing a very successful area of the drug discovery. Despite the great amount of drug discoveries in the vast field of cancer therapy, there is still an urgent need for novel and innovative treatments. Efficacy and safety of the therapy is a major concern and significant advances in structural biology and bioinformatics in the last 20 years gave medicinal chemists a well filled toolbox for the design of innovative drugs using the most advanced techniques working closely together with biochemists, biologists and other medical related researchers to develop the next generation anticancer therapy. We welcome especially submissions with a strong focus on hot medicinal chemistry topics such as multitarget modulators or protacs applying modern drug design methods aiming to get first insights into the mechanism of action from a molecular point of view.


This special issue will establish ties between chemistry and oncology, providing some valuable and innovative approaches in Molecular Medicine and Translational preclinical and clinical research.

Keywords: cancer, epigenetics, drug combination, multitarget compounds, target therapy

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