Cimetidine may improve survival in colorectal cancer

the Oncology Nurse Advisor take:

According to new research published in the journal ecancermedicalscience, cimetidine, a histamine-2 receptor antagonist (H2RA), can improve survival in colorectal cancer.

Researchers from the Repurposing Drugs in Oncology (ReDO) project have found that cimetidine has positive effects in colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, melanoma, and renal cell carcincoma. Cimetidine would be an effective repurposed drug for cancer as it is very safe and has preclinical and clinical evidence of effectiveness for numerous types of cancer.

Furthermore, cimetidine is cheap and available over-the-counter. Cimetidine, like famotidine and ranitidine, works by inhibiting histamine receptors in the stomach, thereby decreasing the production of gastric acid. 

The ReDO project has also found evidence of anti-cancer properties among clarithromycin, diclofenac, mebendazole, nitroglycerin, and itraconazole. Their findings suggest that these anti-cancer properties should be studied in clinical trials, but pharmaceutical companies lack the financial incentives to do so.

They note that repurposed drugs that are accessible, cheap, and have limited adverse effects are good alternatives to treat cancer in low- and middle-income countries and could reduce costs of treating cancer in developed countries.