The repurpoing of tranexamic acid shows potential to improve the treatment of patients undergoing melanoma surgery shows a new PhD project from Aarhus University, Health.

This PhD project demonstrates a structured drug repurposing framework aiming to evaluate the potential of tranexamic acid (TXA) as an anticancer drug in patients undergoing melanoma surgery. Patients with melanoma are at substantial risk of recurrence, even after surgery. The plasminogen-plasmin pathway is involved in both tumor-related processes and the surgical stress response and may therefore be a relevant therapeutic target, especially around the time of surgery. This pathway can be modulated medically using the already existing drug TXA, which is often used to minimize bleeding. To evaluate the potential of TXA, this PhD project provides a comprehensive overview of existing research, demonstrating sustained interest in TXA as a potential anticancer agent. The project also demonstrates the activity of the plasminogen-plasmin pathway within melanoma tumors, supporting its involvement in the disease. Furthermore, the project evaluates the clinical safety of TXA in patients with melanoma using real-world data and finds no increased risk of context-specific adverse events associated with its use. The project then takes the final step towards clinical translation by presenting a randomized controlled trial protocol to assess whether TXA can reduce the risk of melanoma recurrence after surgery.

Together, the PhD project maps out a structured trajectory for evaluating the potential of the drug repurposing candidate TXA as an anticancer agent in patients undergoing melanoma surgery.

The summary is written by the PhD student.

The defence is public and takes place in Auditorium G206-142, Entrance G, Aarhus University Hospital. Please see the press release for more information. 

Contact

PhD student Karoline Assifuah Kristjansen
Mail: karoline_kristjansen@clin.au.dk 
Phone: +45 31958724

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