Drug repurposing is a strategy to discover new therapeutic uses for existing drugs, which have well-established toxicity profiles and are often more affordable. This approach has gained significant attention in recent years due to the high costs and low success rates associated with traditional drug development. Drug repositioning offers a more time- and cost-effective path for identifying new treatments. Several FDA-approved non-chemotherapy drugs have been investigated for their anticancer potential. Among these, anthelmintic benzimidazoles (such as albendazole, mebendazole, and flubendazole) have garnered interest due to their effects on microtubules and oncogenic signaling pathways. Blood cancers, which frequently develop resistance and have high mortality rates, present a critical need for effective therapies. This review highlights the recent advances in repurposing benzimidazoles for blood malignancies. These compounds induce cell cycle arrest, differentiation, tubulin depolymerization, loss of heterozygosity, proteasomal degradation, and inhibit oncogenic signaling to exert their anticancer effects. We also discuss current limitations and strategies to overcome them, emphasizing the potential of combining benzimidazoles with standard therapies for improved treatment of hematological cancers.
药物重定位是一种为现有药物发现新治疗用途的策略，这些药物具有明确的毒性特征且通常价格更为低廉。由于传统药物开发成本高昂且成功率低，这一方法近年来受到广泛关注。药物重定位为发现新疗法提供了更省时、更经济的途径。目前已有多种FDA批准的非化疗药物被研究其抗癌潜力，其中抗蠕虫苯并咪唑类药物（如阿苯达唑、甲苯达唑和氟苯达唑）因其对微管及致癌信号通路的作用而备受关注。血液系统恶性肿瘤常产生耐药性且死亡率高，亟需有效治疗方案。本综述重点阐述苯并咪唑类药物在血液恶性肿瘤治疗中重定位应用的最新进展。这类化合物通过诱导细胞周期阻滞、促进分化、解聚微管蛋白、导致杂合性缺失、促进蛋白酶体降解及抑制致癌信号通路等多种机制发挥抗癌作用。文中同时探讨了当前应用的局限性及应对策略，强调将苯并咪唑类药物与标准疗法联合应用在改善血液系统癌症治疗方面的潜力。
From Deworming to Cancer Therapy: Benzimidazoles in Hematological Malignancies
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家