Two antimalarial drugs, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquin, may help to fight cancer reports MedicalXpress. Researchers who are associated with the Repurposing Drugs in Oncology (ReDO) project have said there has been enough evidence to include these drugs in more clinical investigations. It appears these drugs make tumor cells more sensitive to treatment for cancer.
Ciska Verbaanderd of the Anticancer Fund and the University of Leuven, Belgium, says these drugs have multiple mechanisms of action. It seems that chloroquine and hydroxychloroquin act on both the level of cancer cells and at the level of the tumour microenvironment. Verbaanderd says these antimalarial drugs may offer significant clinical benefit for some cancer patients, particularly together with standard anticancer treatments. More clinical trials are needed to confirm this.
This study has been published in the journal ecancermedicalscience. Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are both well-known antimalarial agents. Preclinical studies have supported the use of these drugs for anti-cancer therapy, particularly when used together with conventional anti-cancer treatments because they can sensitize tumor cells to many drugs. This results in potentiation of the therapeutic activity. Further clinical investigations of the use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for cancer treatment are warranted.
