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Diclofenac is not only a pain-killer but also shows anti-cancer properties, say researchers from the Repurposing Drugs in Oncology (ReDO) project

This ReDO project, a team effort by the AntiCancer Fund and Global Cures, seeks anti-cancer therapies among the drugs that are currently available.

"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," study author Pan Pantziarka said in a press release. "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."

Diclofenac, which is "a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug" (NSAID), is usually a drug that helps to fight various types of body pain, such as "rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, migraine and menstrual cramps" and also helps in the prevention of cancer. It is a revelation for researchers to discover that it could actually fight, rather than just prevent cancer.

It can also reduce "post-surgical metastases risk ."

"After all, it's metastatic disease that most often kills patients, not the original primary disease," Pantziarka explains.

To find out more of its anti-cancer properties, scientists are conducting trials.

It is widely available, reasonably priced and is a generic medicine. Being widely used by many, the drug is easily found in various houses.

The study was published in the journal ecancer Medical Science.