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Cancer systems biology

Harnessing off-target effects

The 'off-targets' of a drug are often poorly characterized yet could be harnessed in the treatment of complex diseases. A recent study used a small-molecule screening in non-small-cell lung cancer to repurpose an FDA-approved ALK/IGF1R inhibitor and uncover its mechanism of action.

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Figure 1: Noncognate effects of the FDA-approved ALK/IGF1R inhibitor ceritinib lead to repurposing its use in ALK-negative non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

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Correspondence to Rune Linding.

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Saginc, G., Voellmy, F. & Linding, R. Harnessing off-target effects. Nat Chem Biol 13, 1204–1205 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.2519

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