Abstract
Background: Interest in targeting metabolism as a viable cancer therapy has been revived in last decade. This has significantly contributed to the understanding of the altered metabolic profile of proliferating cancer cells. Clinically launched target specific drugs have shown encouraging results in terms of both efficacy and safety than conventional anticancer drugs.
Objective: Targeted approaches have significantly changed the treatment of cancer and substantially improved life expectancy of cancer patients. Moreover, the continual discovery of novel molecular targets against various cancer subtypes (lung, breast, colon, prostate, pancreatic cancer etc.) has enabled early diagnosis and treatment of patients against this dreadful disease. Identification of novel cancer biomarkers may aid in the development of new anti-cancer therapies and treatment strategies.
Conclusion: Molecular mechanism and clinical efficacy of some of the emerging molecular targets for cancer chemotherapy have been briefly reviewed in the present article.
Keywords: Cancer therapy, molecular targets, anti-cancer agents, oncogenes, drug design, novel molecular target.
Graphical Abstract