Colorectal Cancer Management at the Intersection between Drug Repurposing and Nanoparticle Formulation

Siham Bazzi – graduate student, Pharmaceutical Sciences Department, School of Pharmacy, Lebanese American University; Vanessa Tarraf – graduate student, Pharmaceutical Sciences Department, School of Pharmacy, Lebanese American University; Alia Khalil – Post Doc, Pharmaceutical Sciences Department, School of Pharmacy, Lebanese American University; Wassim Shebaby – Adjunct Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences Department, School of Pharmacy, Lebanese American University; Rami Mhanna – Associate Professor, biomedical engineering, American University of Beirut; Kawthar abla – Assistant Professor, Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of pharmacy, Beirut Arab University; Mohammad Mroueh – professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences Department, School of Pharmacy, Lebanese American University

Introduction:

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a significant health problem that ranks third in terms of occurrence and second in terms of mortality worldwide [1]. Even though cancer management via chemotherapy is the most effective approach, uncontrollable metastasis accelerates tumor spread. Thus, the application of atypical medications as anticancer-repurposed drugs has gained increasing interest in oncology. Hence, nanocarriers have emerged and played a vital role in the delivery of repurposed drugs in CRC. This study aimed to design two nanotechnology platforms: polymeric nanoparticles and chitosan-coated liposomes loaded with metformin and azithromycin, respectively, to improve efficacy against CRC.