The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 278 No 7452 p579
19 May 2007

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Itraconazole shows potential as new cancer treatment

Itraconazole may have a role in the treatment of cancer, diabetic retinopathy and rheumatoid arthritis (ACS Chemical Biology 2007;2:263).

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, screened a library of drugs, most of which were approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. They looked for those which might inhibit angiogenesis — the formation of new blood vessels, which is involved in cancer, diabetic retinopathy and rheumatoid arthritis.

Itraconazole was one of the most promising agents they studied. In vitro, it inhibited endothelial cell cycle progression at the G1 phase and, in vivo, it blocked angiogenesis, suggesting that it has the potential to serve as treatment for conditions resulting from blood vessel proliferation.