Drug repurposing
Drug repurposing entails the identification of existing therapeutics originally developed for other medical purposes and reusing them for the treatment of cancer. This could be of tremendous benefit for glioblastoma patients, since repurposed compounds may be implemented into the clinic much faster, because of their known safety profiles. Moreover, repurposed treatments are considered as highly cost-effective therapeutic options, compared to most newly developed drugs.
Management of cellular resistance cannot be addressed by treatments that involve the use of a single drug. Approaching the tumor from different angles by acting on different growth related pathways can be much more effective. Multidrug Adjunctive Cancer Treatment (MDACT) is proposed as a new treatment concept for glioblastoma, using six repurposed central nervous system-penetrant drugs that have evidence of ability to inhibit one or more of the identified glioblastoma growth and cell survival pathways, combined with continuous low-dose temozolomide (TMZ). In this project, we aim to evaluate the effects of MDACT in glioblastoma in combination with TMZ using state-of-the art in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo models. Our ultimate goal is to bridge the gap towards clinical implementation and contribute to better patient outcomes in the future.
