Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33952306›Full record

SynthesisAlzheimer's research & therapy2021

Anticancer drugs repurposed for Alzheimer's disease: a systematic review.

Antonio Ancidoni, Ilaria Bacigalupo, Giulia Remoli, Eleonora Lacorte, Paola Piscopo, Giulia Sarti, Massimo Corbo, Nicola Vanacore, Marco Canevelli

Open access · goldAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Alzheimer's research & therapy, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
22citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
3.7field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

22 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.

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  12. Cerebral amyloid angiopathy: a narrative review.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2025
    Review
  13. Article
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  15. Investigation of Potential Drug Targets for Cholesterol Regulation to Treat Alzheimer's Disease.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Antonio AncidoniNational Center for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Italian National Institute of Health, Via Giano della Bella 34, 00162, Rome, Italy. antonio.ancidoni@iss.it.ORCID 0000-0002-3949-3127
Ilaria BacigalupoNational Center for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Italian National Institute of Health, Via Giano della Bella 34, 00162, Rome, Italy.
Giulia RemoliNational Center for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Italian National Institute of Health, Via Giano della Bella 34, 00162, Rome, Italy.
Eleonora LacorteNational Center for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Italian National Institute of Health, Via Giano della Bella 34, 00162, Rome, Italy.
Paola PiscopoDepartment of Neuroscience, Italian National Institute of Health, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161, Rome, Italy.
Giulia SartiDepartment of Human Neuroscience, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
Massimo CorboDepartment of Neurorehabilitation Sciences, Casa Cura Policlinico, Via Dezza 48, 20144, Milan, Italy.
Nicola VanacoreNational Center for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Italian National Institute of Health, Via Giano della Bella 34, 00162, Rome, Italy.
Marco CanevelliNational Center for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Italian National Institute of Health, Via Giano della Bella 34, 00162, Rome, Italy.
Istituto Superiore di Sanità · ITSapienza University of Rome · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe relationship between cancer and dementia is triggering growing research interest. Several preclinical studies have provided the biological rationale for the repurposing of specific anticancer agents in Alzheimer's disease (AD), and a growing number of research protocols are testing their efficacy and safety/tolerability in patients with AD.

methodsThe aim of the present systematic review was to provide an overview on the repurposing of approved anticancer drugs in clinical trials for AD by considering both ongoing and completed research protocols in all phases. In parallel, a systematic literature review was conducted on PubMed, ISI Web, and the Cochrane Library to identify published clinical studies on repurposed anticancer agents in AD.

resultsBased on a structured search on the ClinicalTrials.gov and the EudraCT databases, we identified 13 clinical trials testing 11 different approved anticancer agents (five tyrosine kinase inhibitors, two retinoid X receptor agonists, two immunomodulatory agents, one histone deacetylase inhibitor, and one monoclonal antibody) in the AD continuum. The systematic literature search led to the identification of five published studies (one phase I, three phase II, and one phase IIb/III) reporting the effects of antitumoral treatments in patients with mild cognitive impairment or AD dementia. The clinical findings and the methodological characteristics of these studies are described and discussed.

conclusionAnticancer agents are triggering growing interest in the context of repurposed therapies in AD. Several clinical trials are underway, and data are expected to be available in the near future. To date, data emerging from published clinical studies are controversial. The promising results emerging from preclinical studies and identified research protocols should be confirmed and extended by larger, adequately designed, and high-quality clinical trials.

Indexed as

Alzheimer DiseaseAntineoplastic AgentsCognitive DysfunctionHumansAntineoplastic AgentsAlzheimer’s diseaseAnticancer drugsCancerClinical trialsDrug repositioning

Identifiers

PMID33952306
PMCPMC8101105
OpenAlexW3157488309

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.