Brain tumors in adults may be infrequent when compared with other cancer etiologies, but they remain one of the deadliest with bleak survival rates. Current treatment modalities encompass surgical resection, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. However, increasing resistance rates are being witnessed, and this has been attributed, in part, to cancer stem cells (CSCs). CSCs are a subpopulation of cancer cells that reside within the tumor bulk and have the capacity for self-renewal and can differentiate and proliferate into multiple cell lineages. Studying those CSCs enables an increasing understanding of carcinogenesis, and targeting CSCs may overcome existing treatment resistance. One approach to weaponize new drugs is to target these CSCs through drug repurposing which entails using drugs, which are Food and Drug Administration–approved and safe for one defined disease, for a new indication. This approach serves to save both time and money that would otherwise be spent in designing a totally new therapy. In this review, we will illustrate drug repurposing strategies that have been used in brain tumors and then further elaborate on how these approaches, specifically those that target the resident CSCs, can help take the field of drug repurposing to a new level.

与其他癌症病因相比，成人脑肿瘤可能并不常见，但它们仍然是最致命的肿瘤之一，存活率很低。目前的治疗方式包括手术切除、化疗和放疗。然而，正在目睹耐药率增加，这部分归因于癌症干细胞 (CSC)。CSCs 是癌细胞的一个亚群，位于肿瘤体内，具有自我更新的能力，可以分化和增殖成多个细胞谱系。研究这些 CSCs 可以增加对致癌作用的理解，并且靶向 CSCs 可以克服现有的治疗抵抗。将新药武器化的一种方法是通过药物再利用来靶向这些 CSC，这需要使用药物，经食品和药物管理局批准，对于一种定义的疾病和新适应症是安全的。这种方法有助于节省设计全新疗法所需的时间和金钱。在这篇综述中，我们将说明已用于脑肿瘤的药物再利用策略，然后进一步阐述这些方法，特别是那些针对常驻 CSC 的方法，如何帮助将药物再利用领域提升到一个新的水平。