Disease × agent evidence record

Epirubicin for Cancer: evidence, trials and status

Epirubicin has both completed registered trials and synthesis-level publications linked to Cancer. That is the strongest profile in this database, but the summaries here do not extract effect sizes, so read the linked reviews for direction and magnitude of benefit.

8 registered trials 1 recruiting 15 publications Evidence tier A · Strong Score 74.5
Research Tracker › Pairs › Cancer › Epirubicin
Research map, not treatment advice. This page aggregates registry and literature records. It does not evaluate efficacy, dosing or safety for any individual. Discuss any treatment decision with a qualified clinician.

Summary

Epirubicin has reached the approved stage (maximum clinical phase 4) for at least one indication, so its use in Cancer would be drug repurposing rather than first-in-human development. This does not mean it is approved for Cancer. ClinicalTrials.gov lists 8 registered trials linking Epirubicin to Cancer: 1 is currently recruiting; 4 have completed; 3 are terminated, withdrawn, suspended or of unknown status. The most advanced is Phase 3 (NCT00003577). It plans or enrolled 2000 participants. Registration activity spans 1996 to 2024. The literature layer holds 15 publications for this pair: 5 Cochrane reviews, 1 meta-analysis, 2 systematic reviews, 2 randomised controlled trial publications and 5 clinical trial publications. Publication years run from 2023 to 2026. Because at least one synthesis-level source exists (systematic review, meta-analysis or Cochrane review), this pair has been assessed beyond single studies, although the synthesis may concern a different indication.

The RepurpOS disease-intelligence file for Cancer ranks 1226 candidate therapeutics from Open Targets, ChEMBL, DGIdb and PubMed; only a minority carry direct clinical evidence, and this page covers one of those. Spontaneous remission context recorded for the condition: Spontaneous regression is rare (<0.5% of cases); 5-year survival without treatment: <5% for advanced NSCLC; ~20% for stage I-II with surgery.

Open in Repurposing ExplorerCancer hubChEMBLOpen Targets

Evidence table

Evidence tierA · Strong
Evidence score74.5 (trials 24.5, literature 30.0, tier 15, approved bonus 5.0)
Registered trials8 total: 1 recruiting, 0 active / not yet recruiting, 4 completed, 3 other
Linked publications15 (5 Cochrane reviews, 5 clinical trial publications, 2 systematic reviews, 2 randomised controlled trial publications, 1 meta-analysis)
Agent typeDrug (Small molecule)
Development stage (any indication)Approved
Mechanism / classNot recorded
Data sourcesOpen Targets, ChEMBL
Linked via biomarker / targetABL1
How the evidence score is calculated
  • Each registered trial scores by status (recruiting / active / enrolling 3, completed 2.5, not yet recruiting 2, unknown 1, terminated / withdrawn / suspended 0.5) plus a phase bonus (phase 3-4 +2, phase 2 +1, phase 1 +0.5). The trial component is capped at 30.
  • Each literature item scores by design (Cochrane review 5, meta-analysis 4, systematic review 3, RCT 3, clinical trial publication 2, curated reference 1.5, other PubMed record 1). The literature component is capped at 30.
  • The existing evidence tier adds 15 (A / Strong), 10 (B / Moderate), 5 (C / Preliminary) or 0 (D / Anecdotal).
  • Agents approved for any indication (max clinical phase 4) add 5, because an approved agent has an established safety profile that lowers the barrier to repurposing trials.
  • The score ranks what has been studied, not what works. It does not read effect sizes or directions of effect.

Registered clinical trials

NCT IDTitleStatusPhaseEnrolment
NCT02288741Tandem Melphalan and Autolog. SCT in MM Patients 60 to 70 Years of Age With and Without Induction Chemotherapy
2001
completedPhase 3549
NCT00003577Combination Chemotherapy With or Without Epirubicin in Treating Women With Stage I or Stage II Breast Cancer
1996
completedPhase 32,000
NCT01094964Hyperthermia and Mitomycin C, Bacillus Calmette-Guerin, or Standard Therapy as Second-Line Therapy in Treating Patients With Recurrent Bladder Cancer
2009
status unknownPhase 3242
NCT00966706Cisplatin, Capecitabine, Gemcitabine and Epirubicin or Docetaxel for Patients With Stage III or IV Pancreatic Cancer
2005
completedPhase 2105
NCT02115152Neoadjuvant Trial of Capecitabine for Axillary Lymph Node Positive Operable Breast Cancer
2014
status unknownPhase 2100
NCT02067416PREDATOR: Neoadjuvant Gene Prediction for Breast Cancer
2012
withdrawnPhase 2—
NCT05535998TACE-HAIC Combined With TKIs and Immunotherapy Versus TACE Alone for Hepatocellular Carcinoma With PVTT
2021
completedNot applicable743
NCT06739265Golidocitinib Plus CHOP in Newly Diagnosed PTCL
2024
recruitingPHASE1, PHASE268

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Published literature

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Mechanism and notes

No mechanism of action is recorded for this pair in the source databases.

OSMF's existing evidence tier for this pair is A (Strong), derived from the strength of the disease association recorded in Open Targets and ChEMBL, in this case via the biomarker or target ABL1. The tier describes how well the drug-disease link is documented, not how well the drug works.

Frequently asked questions

Is Epirubicin approved for Cancer?

Epirubicin has reached the approved stage (maximum clinical phase 4) for at least one indication, so its use in Cancer would be drug repurposing rather than first-in-human development. This does not mean it is approved for Cancer. Approval status for the specific indication should always be confirmed with the relevant regulator and prescribing information.

Is Epirubicin in clinical trials for Cancer?

ClinicalTrials.gov lists 8 registered trials linking Epirubicin to Cancer: 1 is currently recruiting; 4 have completed; 3 are terminated, withdrawn, suspended or of unknown status. The most advanced is Phase 3 (NCT00003577). It plans or enrolled 2000 participants. Registration activity spans 1996 to 2024.

What does the evidence show for Epirubicin in Cancer?

Epirubicin has both completed registered trials and synthesis-level publications linked to Cancer. That is the strongest profile in this database, but the summaries here do not extract effect sizes, so read the linked reviews for direction and magnitude of benefit. OSMF's existing evidence tier for this pair is A (Strong), derived from the strength of the disease association recorded in Open Targets and ChEMBL, in this case via the biomarker or target ABL1. The tier describes how well the drug-disease link is documented, not how well the drug works.

Cite this page

Open Source Medicine Foundation. Epirubicin for Cancer: evidence, trials and status. OSMF Research Tracker. Updated 2026-07-05. https://research.opensourcemed.info/pairs/cancer/epirubicin.html

Data: ClinicalTrials.gov, PubMed, Open Targets, ChEMBL, DGIdb and the OSMF therapeutic agent database. Last updated 2026-07-05. Page built 2026-10-07.

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This is a research map, not treatment advice. Evidence tiers and scores summarise what has been studied, not whether a treatment works or is safe for you.