New Hopes with Old Drugs-Breast Cancer

Repurposing known drugs to find new possibilities for health in chronic illnesses continues to bring hope to patients and doctors alike.  An anti-malaria drug is now being studied for use in breast cancer patients whose disease has stubbornly failed to respond to traditional chemotherapy treatment.  

Director of the Methodist Cancer Center in Houston, Dr. Jenny Chang, is leading a study looking at the safety of a drug used for malaria called, chloroquine, which is being used in combination with chemotherapy as a possible option for women with advanced metastatic breast cancer.  

With limited funds flowing into new drug development, Chang said it is important to look at existing and more affordable drugs to treat a variety of diseases.  “We’re very hopeful that this is a new paradigm that we can apply, repurposing old drugs for 5 cents a day that may make an impact in reversing treatment-resistance in women with breast cancer”, said Chang, a breast medical oncologist.

Last paragraph excerpted from the article on fiercebiotech.com.

Chloroquine is a drug Partnership for Cures is familiar with.  It is being used in a clinical trial for lung cancer to reduce the cancer’s ability to become resistant to chemotherapy.  Partnership for Cures funders and researchers discovered the potential of this drug in lung cancer.  Repurposed chloroquine is also being tested in a number of other diseases.  Stay tuned!