Host: The Japanese Society of Toxicology
Name : The 50th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Toxicology
Date : June 19, 2023 - June 21, 2023
Surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy are the three major treatments for cancer. Among them, chemotherapy based on the administration of "anticancer drugs" has the shortest history, but it has achieved the most remarkable development in recent years. The birth of anticancer drugs dates back to the development of nitrogen mustard in 1946. Since then, various anti-cancer drugs (classical anti-cancer drugs) have been developed that exert cell-killing by inhibiting basic functions of cells, such as DNA synthesis, but they showed serious toxicity. The discovery of oncogenes in the 1980s brought rapid advances in cancer biology, bringing about a turning point in anticancer drugs. In 2001, a molecular-targeted drug (MTD), imatinib, which inhibits the oncogene product BCR-ABL, showed an amazing efficacy on chronic myelogenous leukemia. It ushered in the era of MTD, and over the past 20 years, more than 150 new drugs have been developed, transforming cancer treatment. MTDs act on targets that are specifically or more frequently expressed in cancer, so they have lower toxicity than classical anticancer drugs, but they also have unique toxicity. Remarkably, in 2015, immune checkpoint inhibitors such as anti-PD-1 antibodies appeared, and cancer immunotherapy came into the spotlight. During past 20 years, the development of antibody drugs as a modality has been remarkable, accounting for more than 30% of MTDs. The development of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) is also attracting attention. Furthermore, development of new modalities such as PROTAC (proteolysis targeting chimera), nucleic acid drugs, and middle-sized peptides is underway. In this presentation, I will briefly review the development of these anticancer drugs and the changes in toxicity factors.
