Repurposed medicines and cancer: questions to take to your oncology team

CANCER SUPPORT · 7 MIN READ

Many people read about repurposed medicines and protocols online during treatment. The safest thing to do with all of it is bring it into the room with your oncology team.

Summary

• Repurposed medicines are drugs approved for one condition and being studied for another. Being studied is not the same as being safe alongside your treatment.

• Interactions, liver and kidney load, timing and product quality all matter.

• Bring everything you take, and everything you have read about, to your oncology team.

If you are reading about repurposed medicines during cancer treatment, you are far from alone. Late at night, after an appointment, or when a friend sends a link, it is natural to search for anything that might help. Some of what you find is careful research. Some is anecdote. Much of it sits somewhere in between.

This article is not about which medicines to take. It is about what to do with what you have read, so that it helps rather than adds risk.

What are repurposed medicines?

Repurposed medicines are drugs approved for one condition that researchers are studying for another. Repurposing is a legitimate field of research, and some medicines used routinely today began this way.

Being studied is not the same as being shown to work in people, and it is not the same as being safe alongside your treatment. Many early findings come from cells in a laboratory or from animals, and do not carry over to people. Others are being tested in clinical trials that are still under way.

Why every medicine needs coordinating with your team

Interactions. Many medicines and supplements are processed by the same liver enzymes as cancer treatments. Adding something can raise or lower treatment levels in the blood.

Liver and kidney load. Treatment already asks a great deal of the liver and kidneys. An extra medicine can add to that load, and blood tests may need to be watched more closely.

Timing. Some things are safe at one point in treatment and not at another, for example around surgery, radiotherapy or when blood counts are low.

Quality and dose. Products bought online, particularly those not made for human use, may not contain what the label says, or may be dosed in ways that have never been tested in people.

Your team needs the full picture. Your team can only plan around what they know about. Telling them everything you take, or are thinking of taking, is one of the most protective things you can do.

Questions to take to your oncology team

• I have been reading about this medicine. Is it being studied for my type of cancer, and is there a trial I could be eligible for?

• Would it interact with my current treatment?

• Would it affect my liver or kidney function, or my blood counts?

• Is there a time in my treatment when it would be unsafe?

• Who should I check with before starting anything new, including supplements?

Write your questions down before the appointment, and bring a list of everything you currently take. Clinical trials are listed on the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry and ClinicalTrials.gov, and your team can help you understand whether any are relevant to you.

If you feel unheard

Sometimes people avoid raising these questions because they fear being dismissed. That is understandable. You are entitled to ask, and to ask for a second opinion. A good team will want to know, because it keeps you safer.

What I do in consultation

I do not prescribe or recommend medicines. In an initial consultation, I review everything you are taking or considering, all of it together, and help you prepare clear questions for your oncology team.

I put that summary in writing so you can take it to your next appointment, and I support the rest of you through treatment: food, sleep, energy and recovery, coordinated with your team.

Frequently asked questions

Should I tell my oncologist about supplements and other medicines? Yes, always. Your team can only plan safely around what they know about, including anything bought online or started on someone else's advice.

Can a naturopath prescribe repurposed medicines? No. Naturopaths do not prescribe medicines. Any medicine decision belongs with your doctor and oncology team.

Where can I find clinical trials for my cancer? The Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry and ClinicalTrials.gov list current trials. Your oncology team can help you work out whether any are relevant to you.

Where to start

If you are weighing up what you have read, an initial consultation is a calm space to go through everything you take, prepare your questions and plan how to look after yourself through treatment. Consultations are online, consult by consult, at your pace.

This article is general education and does not recommend any medicine, supplement or protocol. In consultation, everything you take is reviewed and coordinated with your oncology team.