Volume 4, Issue 3 e317
REVIEW ARTICLE
Open Access

Deep learning for predicting synergistic drug combinations: State-of-the-arts and future directions

Yu Wang

Yu Wang

Putuo District Ganquan Street Community Healthcare Center, Shanghai, China

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Junjie Wang

Junjie Wang

Department of Medical Informatics, School of Biomedical Engineering and Informatics, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China

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Yun Liu

Corresponding Author

Yun Liu

Department of Medical Informatics, School of Biomedical Engineering and Informatics, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China

Department of Information, the First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China

Correspondence

Yun Liu, Department of Information, the First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, China.

Email: [email protected]

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First published: 17 June 2024

Abstract

Combination therapy has emerged as an efficacy strategy for treating complex diseases. Its potential to overcome drug resistance and minimize toxicity makes it highly desirable. However, the vast number of potential drug pairs presents a significant challenge, rendering exhaustive clinical testing impractical. In recent years, deep learning-based methods have emerged as promising tools for predicting synergistic drug combinations. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of applying diverse deep-learning architectures for drug combination prediction. This review commences by elucidating the quantitative measures employed to assess drug combination synergy. Subsequently, we delve into the various deep-learning methods currently employed for drug combination prediction. Finally, the review concludes by outlining the key challenges facing deep learning approaches and proposes potential challenges for future research.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

No data are available.

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