A common painkiller, diclofenac, displays anti-cancer properties and can be tapped as an anti-cancer agent, researchers from the Repurposing Drugs in Oncology (ReDO) project said. The ReDO project, a collaboration between AntiCancer Fund and Global Cures, searches for prospective anti-cancer therapies among existing and widely available drugs.
Diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), is prescribed for different kinds of body pain, such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, migraine and menstrual cramps. Like other NSAIDs, the drug is known to help prevent cancer. However, the researchers discovered it could do more than that - it could actually help fight cancer.
Studying relevant literature about diclofenac, the researchers found sufficient evidence to justify conducting clinical trials that would test the drug as a cancer treatment.
"It's still somewhat surprising that there is still so much we don't understand about how many of the standard drugs we use every day, like diclofenac, work," study author Pan Pantziarka said in a press release. "But the more we learn, the more we can see that these drugs are multi-targeted agents with interesting and useful effects on multiple pathways of interest in oncology."
Diclofenac has several advantages. First, it is highly available. Second, it is affordable and can be bought as a generic medicine. Third, it is already widely used by many people, which means it is commonly found in household medicine cabinets.
The painkiller can have a huge potential as a cancer treatment, particularly in educing post-surgical metastases risk, the researchers said.
"After all, it's metastatic disease that most often kills patients, not the original primary disease," Pantziarka explains.
The study was published in the journal ecancer Medical Science.
