Unraveling the Anti-Cancer Mechanisms of Antibiotics: Current Insights, Controversies, and Future Perspectives
Cancer persists as a significant global health challenge, claiming millions of lives annually despite remarkable strides in therapeutic innovation. Challenges such as drug resistance, toxicity, and suboptimal efficacy underscore the need for novel treatment paradigms. In this context, the repurposin...
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MDPI AG
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Antibiotics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/14/1/9 |
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| author | Nikolaos Nektarios Karamanolis Dimitris Kounatidis Natalia G. Vallianou Krystalia Dimitriou Eleni Tsaroucha Georgios Tsioulos Ioanna A. Anastasiou Evangelos Mavrothalassitis Irene Karampela Maria Dalamaga |
| author_facet | Nikolaos Nektarios Karamanolis Dimitris Kounatidis Natalia G. Vallianou Krystalia Dimitriou Eleni Tsaroucha Georgios Tsioulos Ioanna A. Anastasiou Evangelos Mavrothalassitis Irene Karampela Maria Dalamaga |
| author_sort | Nikolaos Nektarios Karamanolis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cancer persists as a significant global health challenge, claiming millions of lives annually despite remarkable strides in therapeutic innovation. Challenges such as drug resistance, toxicity, and suboptimal efficacy underscore the need for novel treatment paradigms. In this context, the repurposing of antibiotics as anti-cancer agents has emerged as an attractive prospect for investigation. Diverse classes of antibiotics have exhibited promising anti-cancer properties in both in vitro and in vivo studies. These mechanisms include the induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, generation of reactive oxygen species, and inhibition of key regulators of cell proliferation and migration. Additional effects involve the disruption of angiogenesis and modulation of pivotal processes such as inflammation, immune response, mitochondrial dynamics, ferroptosis, and autophagy. Furthermore, antibiotics have demonstrated the potential to enhance the efficacy of conventional modalities like chemotherapy and radiotherapy, while alleviating treatment-induced toxicities. Nevertheless, the integration of antibiotics into oncological applications remains contentious, with concerns centered on their disruption of gut microbiota, interference with immunotherapeutic strategies, contribution to microbial resistance, and potential association with tumorigenesis. This narrative review explores the mechanisms of antibiotics’ anti-cancer activity, addresses controversies about their dual role in cancer biology, and envisions future perspectives that include the development of novel derivatives and innovative frameworks for their incorporation into cancer treatment paradigms. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6f82d924558d4be8a18fc5cc74a6bfe7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2079-6382 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Antibiotics |
| spelling | doaj-art-6f82d924558d4be8a18fc5cc74a6bfe72025-01-24T13:18:30ZengMDPI AGAntibiotics2079-63822024-12-01141910.3390/antibiotics14010009Unraveling the Anti-Cancer Mechanisms of Antibiotics: Current Insights, Controversies, and Future PerspectivesNikolaos Nektarios Karamanolis0Dimitris Kounatidis1Natalia G. Vallianou2Krystalia Dimitriou3Eleni Tsaroucha4Georgios Tsioulos5Ioanna A. Anastasiou6Evangelos Mavrothalassitis7Irene Karampela8Maria Dalamaga9Second Department of Internal Medicine, Hippokratio General Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, GreeceDiabetes Center, First Department of Propaedeutic Internal Medicine, Laiko General Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, GreeceFirst Department of Internal Medicine, Sismanogleio General Hospital, 15126 Athens, GreeceSecond Department of Internal Medicine, Hippokratio General Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, GreeceFirst Department of Internal Medicine, Sismanogleio General Hospital, 15126 Athens, GreeceFourth Department of Internal Medicine, Attikon General University Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 12462 Athens, GreeceDiabetes Center, First Department of Propaedeutic Internal Medicine, Laiko General Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, GreeceFirst Department of Internal Medicine, Sismanogleio General Hospital, 15126 Athens, GreeceSecond Department of Critical Care, Attikon General University Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 12461 Athens, GreeceDepartment of Biological Chemistry, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, GreeceCancer persists as a significant global health challenge, claiming millions of lives annually despite remarkable strides in therapeutic innovation. Challenges such as drug resistance, toxicity, and suboptimal efficacy underscore the need for novel treatment paradigms. In this context, the repurposing of antibiotics as anti-cancer agents has emerged as an attractive prospect for investigation. Diverse classes of antibiotics have exhibited promising anti-cancer properties in both in vitro and in vivo studies. These mechanisms include the induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, generation of reactive oxygen species, and inhibition of key regulators of cell proliferation and migration. Additional effects involve the disruption of angiogenesis and modulation of pivotal processes such as inflammation, immune response, mitochondrial dynamics, ferroptosis, and autophagy. Furthermore, antibiotics have demonstrated the potential to enhance the efficacy of conventional modalities like chemotherapy and radiotherapy, while alleviating treatment-induced toxicities. Nevertheless, the integration of antibiotics into oncological applications remains contentious, with concerns centered on their disruption of gut microbiota, interference with immunotherapeutic strategies, contribution to microbial resistance, and potential association with tumorigenesis. This narrative review explores the mechanisms of antibiotics’ anti-cancer activity, addresses controversies about their dual role in cancer biology, and envisions future perspectives that include the development of novel derivatives and innovative frameworks for their incorporation into cancer treatment paradigms.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/14/1/9antibioticscancerderivatesgut microbiotaimmunotherapymacrolides |
| spellingShingle | Nikolaos Nektarios Karamanolis Dimitris Kounatidis Natalia G. Vallianou Krystalia Dimitriou Eleni Tsaroucha Georgios Tsioulos Ioanna A. Anastasiou Evangelos Mavrothalassitis Irene Karampela Maria Dalamaga Unraveling the Anti-Cancer Mechanisms of Antibiotics: Current Insights, Controversies, and Future Perspectives Antibiotics antibiotics cancer derivates gut microbiota immunotherapy macrolides |
| title | Unraveling the Anti-Cancer Mechanisms of Antibiotics: Current Insights, Controversies, and Future Perspectives |
| title_full | Unraveling the Anti-Cancer Mechanisms of Antibiotics: Current Insights, Controversies, and Future Perspectives |
| title_fullStr | Unraveling the Anti-Cancer Mechanisms of Antibiotics: Current Insights, Controversies, and Future Perspectives |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unraveling the Anti-Cancer Mechanisms of Antibiotics: Current Insights, Controversies, and Future Perspectives |
| title_short | Unraveling the Anti-Cancer Mechanisms of Antibiotics: Current Insights, Controversies, and Future Perspectives |
| title_sort | unraveling the anti cancer mechanisms of antibiotics current insights controversies and future perspectives |
| topic | antibiotics cancer derivates gut microbiota immunotherapy macrolides |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/14/1/9 |
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