Common arthritis painkiller has anti-cancer properties, experts discover

Diclofenac, a painkiller often prescribed to people with arthritis, has significant anti-cancer properties, according to research published in ecancermedicalscience.

An international collaboration has found that existing and widely-used non-cancer drugs may be a relatively untapped source of new therapies for cancer.

Diclofenac is a well-known and widely used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) for pain in conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and gout. It is available as a generic medication and is cost-effective. Studies have found that when taken in in combination with other treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, diclofenac may improve their effectiveness.

After looking at the available studies, the researchers believe that there is enough evidence to start clinical trials on the use of diclofenac in 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,” says study author Dr Pan Pantziarka. “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.

“After all, it’s metastatic disease that most often kills patients, not the original primary disease.
“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.”

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Image credit: Lisa Redfern