Acyclovir is a common antiviral drug that is sold under different brand names such as Zovirax and Sitavig. It belongs to the drug class purine nucleosides. It comes in various forms including oral capsule, oral tablet, buccal tablet, and oral suspension.
Acyclovir Overview And Its Uses
Acyclovir decelerates the growth and spread of infection causing herpes virus in the body. Acyclovir is prescribed by healthcare providers to treat herpes virus infections such as genital herpes, shingles, cold sores, and chickenpox. It does not cure the infection but lessens the symptoms and provides relief to the sufferer.
Acyclovir is effective against herpes simplex virus and varicella zoster virus infections including:
- Genital herpes
- Herpes simplex labialis
- Herpes simplex encephalitis
- Shingles
- Acute chickenpox (immunocompromised patients)
- Acute mucocutaneous HSV infections (immunocompromised patients)
- Herpes eye infections including herpes simplex blepharitis
- Herpes viruses prevention (immunocompromised patients)
Intravenous Acyclovir effectively treats severe infections caused by various species of herpes virus family such as severe genital herpes, severe localized infections of herpes virus, and herpes viral encephalitis.
Acyclovir And Chemotherapy
Acyclovir antiviral therapy is the primary treatment for herpes infections. However, it can be potentially used as an adjuvant therapy for cancer treatment. The reasons why Acyclovir can be an adjuvant therapy for cancer patients are:
- Acyclovir medication can overpower the spread and invasion of cancer cells.
- Acyclovir can treat or prevent herpes simplex virus infections in patients suffering from leukemia or myeloma.
- Acyclovir can lessen the incidence of oral mucositis in patients receiving chemotherapy or undergoing stem cell transplants.
- Acyclovir can reduce the incidence of bacterial infections in adults having acute leukemia.
Let’s go through some examples, of how Acyclovir may be helpful in cancer treatment:
Leukemia:
Acyclovir prophylaxis can help avert the reactivation of herpes simplex virus infections in adult patients having acute leukemia. It can also help reduce the incidence of bacterial infections in adults suffering from acute leukemia.
Myeloma:
Acyclovir can prevent the reactivation of herpes simplex virus in patients suffering from myeloma. Typically, Acyclovir is administered 400 mg daily and may be increased to 400 mg thrice daily if the patient is undergoing autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation or combination chemotherapy.
Understanding Acyclovir
Acyclovir Mechanism of Action as An Antiviral Drug
Acyclovir is transformed into Acyclovir monophosphate by viral thymidine kinase and then host cell kinases convert it into Acyclovir triphosphate or ACV-TP (Aciclo-GTP). ACV-TP is an extremely potent inhibitor of viral DNA replication. ACV-TP competitively inhibits and inactivates the viral DNA polymerase. Its monophosphate version also merges into the viral DNA leading to chain termination.
Common Viral Infections Treated by Acyclovir
Acyclovir is commonly used to treat the symptoms of shingles, chickenpox, and herpes virus infections of the genitals or sex organs, skin, mucous membranes, and brain as well as herpes virus infections in newborns. It effectively treats cold sores around the mouth.
Acyclovir is also prescribed to prevent and treat recurrent genital herpes infections. In patients experiencing frequent outbreaks, Acyclovir is used to lessen the number of future episodes. Additionally, in patients with a weakened immune system, it can reduce the risk of the virus spreading to other body parts and leading to serious infections.
Acyclovir is active against below mentioned species of the herpes virus family:
- Herpes simplex virus type 1
- Herpes simplex virus type 2
- Varicella zoster virus
- Epstein-Barr virus
- Human cytomegalovirus
Acyclovir for herpes infections
Acyclovir does not cure herpes infections. Acyclovir is an antiviral, however, it is not a cure for these infections. These viruses continue to live inside the body even after treatment. Antiviral medication reduces the severity and length of the outbreaks and helps manage symptoms. It helps ease the pain and itching, allows the sores to heal rapidly, and prevents new sore formation.
If you are diagnosed with genital herpes infection, this medication will not prevent it from spreading. Avoid having oral, vaginal, or anal sex till you have sores or any other signs of genital herpes. Genital herpes can also be spread to others even if you have no visible signs of infection. Discuss with your doctor if you have any questions.
How to take it?
Use this medication when prescribed by a healthcare provider. Follow all the instructions carefully. For oral Acyclovir, take it with or without food as your doctor advises. If it upsets your stomach it’s better to take it with food.
For best effects take this medicine to treat shingles, genital herpes, chickenpox, and cold sores as soon as the initial signs appear. It may not work at its best if you begin with it too late. Keep taking this medicine till the prescribed time even if you start to feel better early.
If you are using Acyclovir suspension, shake the medicine bottle well every time you use it. Measure each dose carefully with the measuring device provided with the medicine. Avoid using your kitchen spoon to measure liquid medicine.
What is Chemotherapy?
Chemotherapy is a treatment used for cancer that involves the use of medicine to kill cancer cells. Cancer treatment involves different types of chemotherapy medicines however they all work similarly. These medicines prevent cancer cell multiplication preventing them from maturing and spreading inside the body.
Purpose of Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is used to ease cancer symptoms and treat cancer. It can be used as a cure for cancer, reduce the chances of cancer returning, and stop or slow the growth of cancer. It is used to ease the symptoms of cancer as it shrinks tumors that cause pain and other symptoms.
Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill or prevent the cancer cell growth. It can be administered in various ways including orally, topically, by injection, or intravenously. Chemotherapy can be used before, after, or in combination with surgery or radiation therapy.
Chemotherapy may help shrink the cancer or slow down its growth which can help the patient manage symptoms and live longer. For a few patients with borderline resectable cancer, chemotherapy can shrink cancer enough allowing surgery to eradicate cancer successfully.
Common Types of Chemotherapy Drugs and Their Mechanisms
There are different types of chemotherapy medicines, such as antitumor antibiotics, mitotic inhibitors, and topoisomerase inhibitors. Each type of drug has a unique mechanism of action.
Nitrosoureas:
These medications impede or slow down the activity of enzymes that repair the DNA.
Anti-tumor antibiotics:
These antibiotic drugs modify the DNA of cancer cells to prevent their growth and multiplication.
Mitotic inhibitors:
These medications include compounds that prevent cancer cells from dividing and producing new cells.
Alkylating agents:
These agents impair the DNA of cancer cells preventing them from reproducing new cells. These drugs are most efficient when a cancer cell is not dividing.
Topoisomerase inhibitors:
These medicines deteriorate the structure of cancer cells which is necessary for the multiplication of cells.
Anti-metabolites:
Anti-metabolite drugs intrude the DNA and RNA of cancer cells and work while these cells are dividing.
Plant alkaloids and natural products:
These types of medicines help block the ability of cancer cells to divide and repair their damage.
Other drugs that can be used for cancer treatment may include immunotherapy drugs, hormonal agents, and biological response modifiers. Chemotherapy medicines can be given orally, intravenously, intramuscularly, intrathecally, or subcutaneously. Usually, these are administered as intravenous injections.
Difference Between Acyclovir and Chemotherapy Drugs
Comparison of Indications: Antiviral Vs. Anticancer
Acyclovir is an antiviral medicine that is used to treat viruses. On the other hand chemotherapy medicines are used to destroy or damage quickly dividing cells (cancer cells). Acyclovir treats viral infections while chemotherapy drugs treat cancer.
Mechanism of Action
Acyclovir targets virus-infected cells and chemotherapy medicines target cancer cells that replicate and grow rapidly. Acyclovir is a nucleoside analog that averts virus duplication by inhibiting viral DNA polymerase.
Chemo drugs may also affect some healthy cells that grow and multiply rapidly such as hair cells and blood cells.
Administration
Acyclovir is usually taken orally 3-5 times a day as it has a short half-life and lower oral absorption. Chemotherapy medicines can be taken orally or intravenously. Intravenous chemo medicines are usually administered once every few weeks.
Side Effects
Acyclovir is quite a non-toxic medication. Chemo drugs may cause unwanted side effects and affect hair cells, blood cells, and cells in the digestive tract. These medicines can reduce blood cell counts that may lead to neutropenia (which makes it difficult for the immune system to combat infections) and anemia.
Misconceptions About Acyclovir
There are many myths regarding the use of Acyclovir in cancer treatment. This medication is intended to treat herpes infections. Acyclovir is an antiviral agent, not a chemo drug, however, it may possess the potential to aid cancer treatment as an adjuvant therapy. Aciclovir adjuvant therapy may help with breast cancer, acute leukemia, and glioblastoma multiforme. However, clinical studies are limited and more research is required.
Can Cancer Patients Take Acyclovir?
Acyclovir antiviral medication has the potential to help cancer when used as an adjuvant therapy. More research work is required to determine relevant biochemical mechanisms by which antiviral agent induces a potent anti-cancer effect.
Why Do Cancer Patients Take Antiviral Drugs?
Typical chemotherapy or molecular target therapies have been prescribed to treat virus-related cancers. However, a more practical approach could be using an antiviral treatment to eliminate or suppress viral infections to avert the occurrence of cancer in the first place.
Wrapping Up
Acyclovir antiviral medicine is called a synthetic nucleoside analog. It is an extensively used treatment for herpesvirus infections including varicella zoster virus and herpes simplex virus. It stops the multiplication and spread of herpes virus in the body. Acyclovir will not kill the herpes virus and cure genital herpes infection and it may not stop the transmission of genital herpes to other people.
Acyclovir possesses the potential for cancer treatment as an adjuvant therapy; however, more clinical studies are required to examine the anti-cancer effects of antiviral drugs. It is extremely important to understand drug classifications. Having a good understanding of drug classifications can help you avoid drug interactions and severe side effects.
A drug class incorporates medicines that possess something in common, thus medications can belong to more than one type of drug class. Medications can be categorized according to their similar chemical structures, mechanism of action, how they work, and which disorders and diseases they can treat. Drug classification ensures that a medicine is used safely and patients get maximum benefits with the lowest possibility of risk.
References
The Effects of Antiviral Drugs on Breast Cancer Cell Line
Backdrop
Current studies have demonstrated the positive antiproliferative and cytotoxic impacts of antiviral agents in cancer treatment. The actual impact of adjuvant antiviral treatment is still debatable because of the lack of studies on the biochemical mechanisms of antiviral drugs. The effect of Acyclovir is studied on morphometric and migratory features of the MCF7 breast cancer cell line, and molecular levels of several proteins have also been studied.
Approach
These experiments were performed to assess and evaluate the impact of antiviral treatment on the morphometric, migratory, and other cellular characteristics of MCF7 breast cancer cells.
- MTT assay to evaluate the feasibility of MCF7 cells
- Colony formation capability by using soft agar assay
- Morphometric characterization by immunofluorescent analysis using confocal microscopy
- Wound healing and transwell membrane assays to determine the migration and invasion ability of cells
- ELISA colorimetric assays to evaluate expression levels of caspase-3, E-cadherin, and enzymatic activity of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH).
Outcomes
The study reveals the oppressive effect of Acyclovir on breast cancer cells. Acyclovir therapy lessens cell growth and propagation and associates with upregulated levels of the apoptosis-associated cytokine Caspase-3. Additionally, it inhibits cancer cells’ colony-creation process and cell invasion ability while increasing the expression of the E-cadherin protein in MCF7 cells.
Breast cancer cells are described by high ALDH activity and are linked to upregulated proliferation and invasion. As per this study, Acyclovir downregulated ALDH activity in MCF7 cells.
Conclusions
These hopeful outcomes reveal the possibility of partial suppression of cancer cell proliferation using an antiviral drug. Antiviral agents of Acyclovir hold significant potential as an adjuvant therapy for cancer treatment. The research is necessary to examine relevant mechanisms of how Acyclovir tempts a strong anti-cancer effect.
