Authors
Yakai Song, Nannan Zheng, Xu Yang, Zhaofan Tao, Qinghui Wang, Zhiyue Cao, Yi Zhang, Mengmeng Li, Ruixin Mao, Yuhao Chen, Chen Zhao, Huanjie Yang, Bin Yang, Qiuyue Ma, Liangcan He, Shaoqin Liu, Kai Li
Published in
Journal of pharmaceutical analysis. Volume 16. Issue 7. Pages 101510. Epub Dec 08, 2025.
Abstract
Although immunotherapy has demonstrated remarkable progress in cancer treatment, its clinical benefits remain restricted to a subset of patients and specific cancer types, primarily due to the immunosuppressive nature of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in solid tumors. Therefore, many strategies have focused on targeting the immunosuppressive TME to enhance immune-mediated tumor eradication. In parallel, the repositioning of old drugs represents an attractive discovery approach compared with the traditional de novo drug discovery process, which is time-consuming and costly. Thus, repurposing US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved old drugs to modulate the tumor immune microenvironment represents a promising strategy to augment the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy. Indeed, emerging evidence indicates that several approved drugs can reprogram the tumor immune landscape, thereby enhancing responses to immunotherapy. This review provides a comprehensive overview of US FDA-approved old drugs with immunomodulatory properties in the tumor context. We discuss their mechanisms in reversing immunosuppression, summarize key findings from preclinical studies and clinical trials involving their combination with immunotherapies, and outline future perspectives for their clinical translation. Collectively, this work highlights the translational potential of drug repurposing as a strategy to expand the therapeutic reach of cancer immunotherapy.
PMID:
42519351
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 29 Jul 2026.
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