Repurposed & off-label drugs in cancer care.

What are repurposed drugs and off label drugs?

Drug repurposing explores a new use for a medicine developed or approved for another purpose. Off-label drugs are medicines used outside a specific authorized indication, population, dose, or route. The terms overlap, but they do not mean exactly the same thing.

We use the DATAR NaturaGene test to help guide clinical decisions around prescribing repurposed and off-label drugs. Its findings are interpreted alongside your diagnosis, current treatment, published evidence, and medication review to inform an individualized plan.

Cancer metabolism: from a rationale to a clinical decision.

Cancer metabolism concerns how cancer cells obtain and use energy and building materials. Research into these processes has prompted interest in existing medicines that may affect metabolic pathways and other features of cancer biology.

A laboratory finding, a pathway diagram, or an observational association can raise a useful research question. It does not establish that a drug reaches the necessary concentration in a tumour, improves outcomes in people, or combines safely with your treatment. We distinguish a plausible mechanism from evidence of patient benefit.

Jane McLelland & How to Starve Cancer.

Jane McLelland is the author of How to Starve Cancer. Her book, educational course, and writing discuss a metabolic approach involving repurposed drugs, supplements, and diet. Her updated work also discusses ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of cell death studied in cancer research.

If her work has prompted questions about off-label drugs or metabolic approaches, you can bring those questions to a consultation. We can examine the specific claim, the original research, the cancer type studied, and whether the proposed approach fits your clinical circumstances.

Her personal account and proposed combinations are not clinical proof that a protocol treats your cancer or improves survival. Mentioning her work here does not imply affiliation, endorsement, or that this practice follows a standardized Jane McLelland protocol. The treatment decision remains individualized and coordinated with your care team.

The phrase “starve cancer” should not be taken as advice to deprive yourself of food. Maintaining nutrition, muscle, and treatment tolerance matters. Our clinical nutrition page explains how dietary discussions fit into cancer care.

What does the evidence actually show?

Drug repurposing is an active field of research, with findings that differ by medicine, cancer type, disease stage, and treatment combination. Early promise can lead to useful trials, but negative and inconclusive studies are equally important to the discussion.

For example, the MA.32 randomized trial did not find improved invasive disease-free survival from adding metformin to standard treatment in its primary population of patients without diabetes who had hormone-receptor-positive operable breast cancer. This does not answer every question about metformin, but it illustrates why a metabolic rationale should be tested rather than treated as a proven outcome.

Where the evidence is preliminary, that uncertainty should be clear before treatment. We also consider whether a clinical trial would offer a more appropriate setting for an investigational approach.

What we review together.

• Your cancer and current care. Diagnosis, pathology, stage, relevant molecular findings, treatment intent, and the oncology plan.
• The exact proposal. Which medicine is being considered, why, and which human studies support that use.
• The complete medication picture. Prescriptions, non-prescription products, botanicals, supplements, and planned procedures.
• Your health and priorities. Symptoms, organ function, medical history, treatment burden, costs, and what matters to you.
• Alternatives. Established supportive care, adjustments with your oncology team, clinical trials, or choosing not to add another medicine.

A blood test or tumour report does not automatically establish which repurposed medicine will help. We explain what a result can and cannot tell us.

Prescribing, monitoring & coordination.

Where a medication is appropriate and within my prescribing scope, we discuss the proposed use, supporting evidence, risks, alternatives, and monitoring. A consultation does not guarantee a prescription. Decisions beyond my scope require coordination or referral.

Familiar medicines can still cause serious harm when used in a different population or combination. Depending on the drug, concerns can include effects on the liver, kidneys, blood counts, heart rhythm, blood glucose, or the way another medicine is processed. Combining several agents increases the need for a careful review.

We agree on what to monitor, who will order and review results, when to reassess, and what would lead us to stop or change treatment. With your permission, relevant information can be shared with your oncologist, family physician, and pharmacist.

Common questions.

Learn more.

These resources explain the approach and the evidence discussed above. Research findings are interpreted in the context of your diagnosis and care.

• NaturaGene therapy guidance · DATAR Cancer Genetics ↗
• Off-label drug use in cancer treatment · National Cancer Institute ↗
• MA.32 metformin randomized trial · JAMA ↗
• Drug repurposing research · NIH NCATS ↗
• Jane McLelland’s writing · author resource, not a clinical guideline ↗
• How to Starve Cancer course · author resource ↗

Page updated November 2026.

Care with Dr. Jeff Martineau, BScH, BHSc, ND

Start with your priorities.

Care is offered at Healthcode Regenerative in Vancouver. Care includes assessment, shared decisions, and communication with your oncology team, with your permission. Learn about my education and clinical training, or begin with a meet and greet to discuss whether the practice fits your needs.