On 2014 Aug 16, Miguel Lopez-Lazaro commented:

It should be noted that the cytotoxic potency of a compound against cancer cells does not reliably predict its potential for cancer therapy. Cancer patients do not need drugs that improve the ability of the standard drugs to kill cancer cells at low concentrations. They need drugs that improve the ability of the standard drugs to kill their cancer cells without significantly affecting their normal cells (http://1.usa.gov/XphR6X)

I agree with the authors that metal–NHC complexes might be useful in cancer therapy. However, I believe that the in vitro and in vivo therapeutic potential of these complexes have not yet been demonstrated. Future studies should evaluate if these complexes improve the ability of the standard drugs to kill cancer cells without significantly affecting nonmalignant cells from appropriate tissues. If they improve the selectivity of the standard drugs, in vivo studies should evaluate if they can also improve the survival rates of the standard anticancer drugs when tested in animal models representative of the patients that would eventually receive the drugs, under experimental conditions that can reliably predict activity in cancer patients.

Dr. Lopez-Lazaro

On 2014 Aug 16, Miguel Lopez-Lazaro commented:

It should be noted that the cytotoxic potency of a compound against cancer cells does not reliably predict its potential for cancer therapy. Cancer patients do not need drugs that improve the ability of the standard drugs to kill cancer cells at low concentrations. They need drugs that improve the ability of the standard drugs to kill their cancer cells without significantly affecting their normal cells (http://1.usa.gov/XphR6X)

I agree with the authors that metal–NHC complexes might be useful in cancer therapy. However, I believe that the in vitro and in vivo therapeutic potential of these complexes have not yet been demonstrated. Future studies should evaluate if these complexes improve the ability of the standard drugs to kill cancer cells without significantly affecting nonmalignant cells from appropriate tissues. If they improve the selectivity of the standard drugs, in vivo studies should evaluate if they can also improve the survival rates of the standard anticancer drugs when tested in animal models representative of the patients that would eventually receive the drugs, under experimental conditions that can reliably predict activity in cancer patients.

Dr. Lopez-Lazaro