Hopefully, Diclofenac’s price won’t surge after the clinical trials prove its effectiveness against cancer.
The finding that a new cancer treatment may arrive in the form of Diclofenac, a common over-the-counter painkiller pill sold in the form of Voltaren or Solaraze came from a study which had the goal of checking if any common household pills can have beneficial effects towards treating cancer.
Said study is named the Repurposing Drugs In Oncology and it does just that, finding viable drugs that work in tandem with chemotherapy or radiotherapy in order to combat cancer in a more efficient manner. Diclofenac is a non-steroidal and anti-inflammatory drug, NSAID for short, and is usually taken in order to alleviate migraines, post-surgery pains, fevers and other similar issues.
After analyzing the medical records of patients that underwent tumor-removal surgery or are currently undergoing cancer treatments, while at the same time taking NSAID as well, researchers found that the pill can strengthen the patient’s immune system. This effectively makes NSAID-type drugs into efficient cancer-killers, even if they won’t necessarily cure cancer.
Because Diclofenac has close to 0 toxicity levels and no adverse side-effects, researchers are planning to make further inquiries on the viability of said drug as a potential cancer treatment. But this newly made discovery does not only affect NSAID medication.
Almost all of the pills taken by US citizens on a regular basis have an increased effect in oncology because they are designed as checkpoint inhibitors. By being this type of drug, pills can be used in multiple ways in order to bring benefits to the patient, from an oncological point of view, with extreme ease.
But in order to further cement how these drugs affect cancer, clinical trials have to be conducted for each and every type of pills, due to their multi-targeted type of composition. Fortunately, according to UPI, four trials regarding the use of Diclofenac have already started, while the ReDO team is currently focusing on other commonly used drugs like Ketorolac and Cimetidine.
The reason why this study was started is based on the fact that current cancer treatments are extremely expensive and for some people, unobtainable. By proving how much more cheap alternatives are already on the market, as well as further broadening our knowledge on the effects of certain chemicals on cancer, the general public will have yet another way of combating this dreadful illness.
In some states, cancer has even overthrown heart disease in terms of mortality rates, gaining the title of deadliest disease. With cancer diagnostics in the US being on the rise as well, the need for a viable treatment that can be accessed by anyone, no matter their social status and income, has increased significantly.
If the news that a new cancer treatment may arrive in the form of Diclofenac is proven to be completely valid, after the clinical trials have ended, this will push medical science even closer towards eventually reading the human race from cancer. Only time will tell how efficient Diclofenac will be against cancer, as well as how this discovery will affect the entire oncology side of medicine.
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