Anti-cancer effect of memantine as adjunctive therapy in metastatic
colon cancer: A pilot randomized controlled clinical trial
Abstract
Purpose: Colon cancer, one of the three deadliest cancers worldwide, has
a high prevalence, especially in developing societies. Recently, our
preclinical study demonstrated the strong anti-tumor effects of
memantine on colon cancer in rats. This study aimed to investigate the
effects of memantine (an NMDA receptor antagonist) in patients with
metastatic colon cancer. Patients and Methods: In this randomized
controlled clinical trial, 32 patients with metastatic colon cancer were
randomized into two arms. The first arm received a chemotherapy regimen
and the second arm received a chemotherapy regimen plus memantine 20
mg/day. The tumor size, metastasis, hematological parameters, CEA level,
and N/L ratio were measured. Additionally, we assessed the safety and
tolerability of this combination and its effect on the quality of life
(QoL) of metastatic colon cancer patients. Results: Memantine reduced
the colon tumor size in comparison to the control group patients
(P=0.04). Also, in the memantine group, the metastasis was lower than in
the control group (50% vs 87.5% respectively). Moreover, the
memantine-treated group demonstrated reduced levels of CEA (P=0.01) as
well as improved some hematological parameters. Also, quality of life
was partially improved and no serious adverse effects were reported.
Conclusions: Three-month adjuvant therapy with memantine reduces tumor
size, metastasis, CEA level, and the N/L ratio, and also causes relative
improvement of hematological parameters as well as the quality of life
without causing any serious adverse effects. Therefore, memantine could
be suggested as an appropriate adjuvant therapy in metastatic colorectal
cancer.