The Development of Organometallic Anticancer Drugs that Operate via Epigenetic Mechanisms
Following an introduction to the role of metal compounds in the treatment of cancer the seminar will focus on our own research on ruthenium-based organometallic (RAPTA) compounds that are active against chemoresistant and invasive tumours. We show that organometallic RAPTA-type drugs are able to overcome certain types of drug resistance mechanisms as they do not target DNA, but operate via epigenetic mechanisms. Furthermore, their mechanism of action leads to significant changes to the tumor microenvironment, which sensitizes tumors to other cytotoxic (DNA acting) drugs. The study of RAPTA-type compounds in combination with clinically approved compounds will therefore also be discussed.