Nitazoxanide in Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

Globally, colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major malignant tumor of the gastrointestinal tract which originates from epithelial cells of the colon and rectum. The efficacy of current cancer therapies is still limited by severe adverse effects on normal tissues and chemoresistance development. Therefore, recent efforts have been focused on the repurposing of existing drugs with good safety profiles for cancer treatment. Nitazoxanide (NTZ) is considered a broad-spectrum anti-microbial drug with a potent activity against various helminths, anaerobic bacteria and viruses. NTZ inhibited the proliferation of CRC cell lines at or below concentrations that normally exhibit anti-parasitic activity.