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Disulfiram and Copper Gluconate in Cancer Chemotherapy; a Review of the Literature

Received: 2 September 2014     Accepted: 16 September 2014     Published: 30 September 2014
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Abstract

Repurposing non- cancer related drugs with possible antitumoral activities is a promising strategy for identifying prospective new anticancer drugs in a cost efficient and time saving way. Repurposing disulfiram has recently become of interest because of its pre-clinically described anticancer effects against various human cancers, which include breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, melanoma, prostate as well as myeloma and leukaemia. Epidemiological studies reveal a trend to reduced cancer risks in cancer patients using disulfiram for chronic alcoholism treatment while already reported literature point to the efficacy of disulfiram on cancer cell lines. Disulfiram has been shown to be effective either as a stand alone or in combination with other drugs against metastatic liver cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, glioblastoma and melanoma. Preclinical studies indicate that disulfiram when combined with copper ions acts as a proteasome inhibitor, to induce oxidative stress, reduce NFƙB (Nuclear factor ƙappa Binding) activity and enhance the sensitivity of cancer cells to chemotherapeutic agents. This study analyzed existing literature and found that disulfiram in combination with copper gluconate is a promising therapeutic agent for use in cancer chemotherapy.

Published in Cancer Research Journal (Volume 2, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.crj.20140205.12
Page(s) 88-92
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Cancer, Disulfiram, Copper gluconate

References
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    Georgewill Udeme Owunari, Siminialayi Iyeopu Minakiri. (2014). Disulfiram and Copper Gluconate in Cancer Chemotherapy; a Review of the Literature. Cancer Research Journal, 2(5), 88-92. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.crj.20140205.12

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    ACS Style

    Georgewill Udeme Owunari; Siminialayi Iyeopu Minakiri. Disulfiram and Copper Gluconate in Cancer Chemotherapy; a Review of the Literature. Cancer Res. J. 2014, 2(5), 88-92. doi: 10.11648/j.crj.20140205.12

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    AMA Style

    Georgewill Udeme Owunari, Siminialayi Iyeopu Minakiri. Disulfiram and Copper Gluconate in Cancer Chemotherapy; a Review of the Literature. Cancer Res J. 2014;2(5):88-92. doi: 10.11648/j.crj.20140205.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.crj.20140205.12,
      author = {Georgewill Udeme Owunari and Siminialayi Iyeopu Minakiri},
      title = {Disulfiram and Copper Gluconate in Cancer Chemotherapy; a Review of the Literature},
      journal = {Cancer Research Journal},
      volume = {2},
      number = {5},
      pages = {88-92},
      doi = {10.11648/j.crj.20140205.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.crj.20140205.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.crj.20140205.12},
      abstract = {Repurposing non- cancer related drugs with possible antitumoral activities is a promising strategy for  identifying prospective new anticancer drugs in a cost efficient and time saving way. Repurposing disulfiram has recently become of interest because of its pre-clinically described anticancer effects against various human cancers, which include breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, melanoma, prostate as well as myeloma and leukaemia. Epidemiological studies reveal a trend to reduced cancer risks in cancer patients using disulfiram for chronic alcoholism treatment while already reported literature  point to the efficacy of disulfiram on cancer cell lines. Disulfiram has been shown to be effective either as a stand alone or in combination with other drugs against metastatic liver cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, glioblastoma and melanoma. Preclinical studies indicate that disulfiram when combined with copper ions acts as a proteasome inhibitor, to induce oxidative stress, reduce NFƙB (Nuclear factor ƙappa Binding) activity and enhance the sensitivity of cancer cells to chemotherapeutic agents. This study analyzed existing literature and found that disulfiram in combination with copper gluconate is a promising therapeutic  agent for use in cancer chemotherapy.},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

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    AU  - Georgewill Udeme Owunari
    AU  - Siminialayi Iyeopu Minakiri
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    AB  - Repurposing non- cancer related drugs with possible antitumoral activities is a promising strategy for  identifying prospective new anticancer drugs in a cost efficient and time saving way. Repurposing disulfiram has recently become of interest because of its pre-clinically described anticancer effects against various human cancers, which include breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, melanoma, prostate as well as myeloma and leukaemia. Epidemiological studies reveal a trend to reduced cancer risks in cancer patients using disulfiram for chronic alcoholism treatment while already reported literature  point to the efficacy of disulfiram on cancer cell lines. Disulfiram has been shown to be effective either as a stand alone or in combination with other drugs against metastatic liver cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, glioblastoma and melanoma. Preclinical studies indicate that disulfiram when combined with copper ions acts as a proteasome inhibitor, to induce oxidative stress, reduce NFƙB (Nuclear factor ƙappa Binding) activity and enhance the sensitivity of cancer cells to chemotherapeutic agents. This study analyzed existing literature and found that disulfiram in combination with copper gluconate is a promising therapeutic  agent for use in cancer chemotherapy.
    VL  - 2
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Author Information
  • Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

  • Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

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