Table 1

Summary of noncancer drugs, their primary indication, noncancer and cancer targets
AGENT	PRIMARY INDICATION	ON-TARGET Primary effects	ON-TARGET Antitumor effects	OFF-TARGET Antitumor effects

CCA
Verapamil Diltiazem	Anti-arrhytmic	L-type Ca²⁺channels	L-type Ca²⁺channels	Voltage-gated K+ channels MDR proteins

Inotropics
Digitalis	Heart failure	Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase	Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase	Death receptors Glycolysis

RAS
Losartan	Hypertension	ACE, AT₁R	AT₁R
Captopril	Heart failure

Antianginal
Nitroglycerin	CHD	GMP	cGMP

Alpha₁-adrenoceptor antagonists
Terazosin	Hypertension	A₁R	A₁R	EGFR
Alfuzosin	BPH
Prazosin

Vasodilator
Hydralazine	Hypertension	Unknown		DNA methylation

Antiarrhytmic
Procainamide	Arrhytmias	Na+ channels		DNMT1

Local anesthetic
Procaine	Local anesthesia	Na+ channels		DNA methylation

Antiepileptic
Valproic acid	Epilepsia	GABA ergic	Blocking NMDA Na+ channels	Class I-II HDACs PPARγ

Antidiabetics
Glitazones	Diabetes mellitus	PPARγ	PPARγ
Metformin	Diabetes mellitus	AMPK	AMPK

Antiobesity
Orlistat	Obesity	Fatty-Acid Synthase	Fatty-Acid Synthase

Cholesterol lowering agents
Statins	Cholesterolemia	HMGC	HMGC

Antimalarial
Chloroquine	Malaria	Lysosomas	Lysosomas	Autophagia

Abortive
Mifepristone	Abortion	Progesterone receptor	Progesterone receptor	MDR/MPR

Italic fonts indicate that the targets are shared by the pathological conditions (on-target effects). Underlined fonts indicate that the antitumor effect is explained by different targets (off-target effects). This table indicates that some "benign" conditions share molecular alterations with malignant diseases (one target-several indications). CCA: calcium channel antagonists; RAS: renine-angiotensin-system; CHD: coronary heart disease; BPH: benign prostatic hyperplasia.
Dueñas-González et al. Molecular Cancer 2008 7:82 doi:10.1186/1476-4598-7-82