Repurposing strategies and benefits in light of itraconazole interrelated therapeutic activities and challenges

The accidental discovery of new indications for drugs outside their application span had encouraged many researchers to investigate the interrelation between various drugs, diseases and specific targets. Systematic repositioning or repurposing using multiple data sources and methods of analysis had been addressed in various studies. Meanwhile anticancer drugs generally exhibited relatively high toxicity and severe side effects in both affected and normal cells. Drug repurposing had helped to discover safer drug molecules with less side effects. Cancer and fungal pathogenesis were found to have overlapped mode of action opening the gate for using antifungals as adjuncts in cancer therapy for less toxicity and better tumor growth control. Preclinical and clinical data have proposed the use of itraconazole as a promising anticancer, However, itraconazole, as a weak basic compound with low-solubility, poor absorption and limited bioavailability, faces several formulation challenges. This review focuses on Itraconazole, with its dual antifungal anti-cancer activity and challenges facing its formulation.