Naturally occurring molecules and anticancer combination therapies in the era of personalized medicine and economic crisis.

"About 12 million people worldwide are diagnosed with cancer each year. That figure is expected to reach 27 million by 2030. The burden of cancer is growing and becoming a major financial issue.. The number of cancer patients and the cost of their treatment are constantly increasing. Thus, the charge of anticancer therapies in the developed world is spiralling and its economic impact is increasingly becoming more relevant for National Health Services. . Recently, recommendations for improving cancer care and reducing costs have been outlined, and . key areas that could be addressed to reduce the cost and improve the quality of cancer care have been identified by an extensive panel of experts.. In particular, the absolute amount spent on cancer care is increasing in all developed countries, and the rate of this increase is going up year by year. It has been reported that this is not only due to the increasing number of cancer cases seen, but also by factors such as the use of increasingly individualised treatments that are expensive to develop and the use of inappropriate anticancer products. At this regard, recommendations are that countries attempt to drive the development of new low-cost technologies and to refocuse care pathways on high-quality, cost-effective and value-based care to reduce the cost of cancer care without sacrificing benefits.. . Based on the above considerations, the topic of this special issue of Current Pharmaceutical Design was chosen to contribute to highlight the importance of the development of cheaper anticancer strategies to reduce costs and possibly improve quality of cancer care.. . The emergence of molecularly targeted agents and the evidence of different molecular features of tumours is revolutioning the care of cancer patients and changing the daily practice of medical oncologists. However, the finding that molecularly targeted drugs sometimes have limited antitumor activity as single agents has led clinical investigators to combine molecularly targeted agents with cytotoxic agents. . More in general, combination chemotherapy is receiving particular attention in order to find compounds that could increase the therapeutic index of clinical anticancer drugs while limiting their potential toxicity. . At this regard, naturally occurring molecules with no or the least toxicity to normal tissues and able to reduce the dosage of drugs (better if “cheap” drugs) required to obtain antitumor effects are suggested as very attractive candidates to be investigated.. . The possible scenario where the use of naturally occurring compounds, molecular targeted agents and combination therapies in an individual tailored pattern are integrated, emerges as the new frontier for an efficacious and cheaper anticancer strategy compatible with a public National Health System.. The present hot topic issue comprises 8 intriguing contributions from international experts with multidisciplinary competencies.. "