Repurposing of Various Current Medicines as Radioprotective Agents
June 2023
in “
Anti-cancer agents in medicinal chemistry
”
TLDR Some existing medicines show promise as safe treatments to protect against the side effects of radiation therapy.
The document reviews the potential of repurposing existing drugs as radioprotective agents to mitigate the side effects of radiotherapy, such as hair loss, skin changes, and secondary malignancies. It highlights the effectiveness of agents like metformin, captopril, nifedipine, simvastatin, pravastatin, atorvastatin, edaravone, selenium, melatonin, dexrazoxane, and amifostine, which have shown significant radioprotective properties in various studies. These drugs can offer safer treatment options by scavenging free radicals, providing antioxidant effects, and reducing toxicity, thus protecting against radiation-induced damage, including alopecia and other tissue damage.
