Abstract
Members of the solute carrier (SLC) family of transporters are responsible for the cellular influx of a broad range of endogenous compounds and xenobiotics. These proteins are highly expressed in the gastrointestinal tract and eliminating organs such as the liver and kidney, and are considered to be of particular importance in governing drug absorption and elimination. Many of the same transporters are also expressed in a wide variety of organs targeted by clinically important anticancer drugs, directly affect cellular sensitivity to these agents, and indirectly influence treatment-related side effects. Furthermore, targeted intervention strategies involving the use of transport inhibitors have been recently developed, and have provided promising lead candidates for combinatorial therapies associated with decreased toxicity. Gaining a better understanding of the complex interplay between transporter-mediated on-target and off-target drug disposition will help guide the further development of these novel treatment strategies to prevent drug accumulation in toxicity-associated organs, and improve the safety of currently available treatment modalities. In this report, we provide an update on this rapidly emerging field with particular emphasis on anticancer drugs belonging to the classes of taxanes, platinum derivatives, nucleoside analogs, and anthracyclines.