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Drug Repurposing in Oncology: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials
Ignatios Ioakeim-Skoufa, Natalia Tobajas-Ramos, Enrica Menditto, Mercedes Aza-Pascual-Salcedo, Antonio Gimeno-Miguel, Valentina Orlando, Francisca González-Rubio, Ana Fanlo-Villacampa et al.. Cancers, 2023-05-30
Topic: Drug trials: efficacy and safety
Quality pharmacological treatment can improve survival in many types of cancer. Drug repurposing offers advantages in comparison with traditional drug development procedures, reducing time and risk. This systematic review identified the most recent randomized controlled clinical trials that focus on drug repurposing in oncology. We found that only a few clinical trials were placebo-controlled or standard-of-care-alone-controlled. Metformin has been studied for potential use in various types of cancer, including prostate, lung, and pancreatic cancer. Other studies assessed the possible use of the antiparasitic agent mebendazole in colorectal cancer and of propranolol in multiple myeloma or, when combined with etodolac, in breast cancer. We were able to identify trials that study the potential use of known antineoplastics in other non-oncological conditions, such as imatinib for severe coronavirus disease in 2019 or a study protocol aiming to assess the possible repurposing of leuprolide for Alzheimer's disease. Major limitations of these clinical trials were the small sample size, the high clinical heterogeneity of the participants regarding the stage of the neoplastic disease, and the lack of accounting for multimorbidity and other baseline clinical characteristics. Drug repurposing possibilities in oncology must be carefully examined with well-designed trials, considering factors that could influence prognosis.
Key findings
- We found that only a few clinical trials were placebo-controlled or standard-of-care-alone-controlled.
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Study details
- Study designsystematic review
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 70/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a systematic review of all the studies on the question. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported and studied in people because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record, multi-centre collaboration and free to read, so those were left out: it earned 39 of the 56 points we could judge it on, which is 70 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Cancers) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 12 / 12 | A systematic review of all the studies on the question |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2023 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 37296934) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 39 / 56 | Scored on 10 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 39 of the 56 points we could judge it on is 70 out of 100. |
| Total | 70 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Ioakeim-Skoufa, I., Tobajas-Ramos, N., Menditto, E., Aza-Pascual-Salcedo, M., Gimeno-Miguel, A., Orlando, V., et al. (2023). Drug Repurposing in Oncology: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials. Cancers. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15112972
Vancouver
Ioakeim-Skoufa I, Tobajas-Ramos N, Menditto E, Aza-Pascual-Salcedo M, Gimeno-Miguel A, Orlando V, et al. Drug Repurposing in Oncology: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials. Cancers. 2023. doi:10.3390/cancers15112972. PMID: 37296934.
BibTeX
@article{ioakeimskoufa2023-37296934,
author = {Ioakeim-Skoufa, Ignatios and Tobajas-Ramos, Natalia and Menditto, Enrica and Aza-Pascual-Salcedo, Mercedes and Gimeno-Miguel, Antonio and Orlando, Valentina and González-Rubio, Francisca and Fanlo-Villacampa, Ana and others},
title = {{Drug Repurposing in Oncology: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials}},
journal = {Cancers},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.3390/cancers15112972},
pmid = {37296934},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15112972}
}
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