Common painkiller with anti-cancer properties identified

New York: Researchers have identified a low-cost and readily accessible painkiller that has significant anti-cancer properties.

Diclofenac - a well-known cost-effective painkiller - has the potential to cut down the risk of post-surgical spread of cancer, which may prove to be a huge win in the fight against cancer, explained the authors.

Following clinical trials on the use of diclofenac in cancer treatment, the team found that the drug when taken in combination with other treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, might improve its effectiveness.

"We can see that these drugs are multi-targeted agents with interesting and useful effects on multiple pathways of interest in oncology,” said study author Pan Pantziarka, member of the Repurposing Drugs in Oncology (ReDO) project, an international collaboration between the Anticancer Fund, Belgium, and US based GlobalCures.

The study, which was part of the ReDO project, appeared in the journal ecancermedicalscience.