Molecular fundamentals of drug interactions in the therapy of colorectal cancer

Rapid advances in the field of chemotherapy have resulted in the introduction of numerous antineoplastic drugs into clinical practice, which increased the efficiency of patient management. Also the prevalent use of combination treatment based on drug action synergy contributed to the improved clinical effect associated with cytotoxic drug administration. It seems, however, obvious that the multidirectional pharmacotherapy in oncology requires a thorough knowledge of drugs' pharmaceutical behavior in order to maximize their collective action and prevent the occurrence of unintended drug interactions that could potentially impair treatment effectiveness. In fact, drug interactions constitute a serious problem for current oncology primarily resulting from a narrow therapeutic index specific for the majority of anticancer drugs. This, in turn, indicates that even slight deviations of their pharmacokinetics could cause significant clinical consequences, manifested by alteration of the toxicological profile or reduction of therapeutic efficiency. Hence, the investigation of molecular aspects underlying the mechanisms of various drug interactions seems to be essential for proper and safe patient management. The present article is devoted to the extensive subject of drug interactions occurring in the therapy of colorectal cancer. It presents the available literature data on both positive and negative effects of interactions and it discusses their mechanisms complying with their classification into pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic ones.