Cheap Diclofenac has anti-cancer properties. Like other drugs examined by the ReDO project, diclofenac is cheap and readily accessible — and as it’s already present in many medicine cabinets, it has been carefully tested. The Repurposing Drugs in Oncology (ReDO) project, an international collaboration between the Anticancer Fund, Belgium, and US based GlobalCures, finds that existing and widely-used non-cancer drugs may represent a relatively untapped source of novel therapies for cancer.
Diclofenac is a well-known and widely used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to treat pain in conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, as well as migraine, fever, acute gout and post-operative pain.
NSAIDs have shown promise in cancer prevention, but there is now emerging evidence that such drugs may be useful in actually treating cancer. Eg, diclofenac taken in combination with other treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, may improve their effectiveness.
Summary of evidence by cancer type.
The ReDO researchers examined the literature and believe that there is enough evidence to start clinical trials on the use of diclofenac in cancer treatment. Given the multiple mechanisms of action of diclofenac, particularly with relation to angiogenesis and the immune system, it may well be that this is a drug with huge potential to treat cancer, especially when given in the perioperative period.
Cutting down on the risk of post-surgical distant metastases through the use of drugs like diclofenac may represent a huge win in the fight against cancer, the authors say. “It may also be that diclofenac may have actions which synergise with the latest generation of checkpoint inhibitors – the combination of the latest drugs in the anticancer armoury with some of the oldest is especially exciting.” http://ecancer.org/journal/10/610-repurposing-drugs-in-oncology-redo-diclofenac-as-an-anti-cancer-agent.php http://ecancer.org/journal/10/full/610-repurposing-drugs-in-oncology-redo-diclofenac-as-an-anti-cancer-agent.php
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