Summary
Liothyronine has reached the approved stage (maximum clinical phase 4) for at least one indication, so its use in Colorectal Cancer would be drug repurposing rather than first-in-human development. This does not mean it is approved for Colorectal Cancer. ClinicalTrials.gov lists 8 registered trials linking Liothyronine to Colorectal Cancer: 1 is currently recruiting; 2 have completed; 5 are terminated, withdrawn, suspended or of unknown status. The most advanced is Phase 3 (NCT01653301). It plans or enrolled 616 participants. Registration activity spans 1999 to 2024. No published literature item is linked to Liothyronine and Colorectal Cancer in the OSMF database yet, so the record rests on registry entries alone. Registry entries describe intent to study, not outcomes.
The RepurpOS disease-intelligence file for Colorectal Cancer ranks 1212 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: Essentially zero; 5-year survival stage I: ~90% (resectable); stage IV: ~15% overall, ~20-30% with modern therapy and liver metastasis resection.
Evidence table
| Evidence tier | A · Strong |
|---|---|
| Evidence score | 38.0 (trials 18.0, literature 0.0, tier 15, approved bonus 5.0) |
| Registered trials | 8 total: 1 recruiting, 0 active / not yet recruiting, 2 completed, 5 other |
| Linked publications | 0 |
| Agent type | Drug (Small molecule) |
| Development stage (any indication) | Approved |
| Mechanism / class | Not recorded |
| Data sources | DGIdb |
| Linked via biomarker / target | APC |
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trial scores by status (recruiting / active / enrolling 3, completed 2.5, not yet recruiting 2, unknown 1, terminated / withdrawn / suspended 0.5) plus a phase bonus (phase 3-4 +2, phase 2 +1, phase 1 +0.5).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 ID | Title | Status | Phase | Enrolment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT01653301 | Preoperative Downstaging of Extraperitoneal T3 Rectal Cancer: XELOXRT Versus XELACRT. A Multicenter, Phase III Study 2005 | status unknown | Phase 3 | 616 |
| NCT00023751 | Surgery With or Without Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy in TreatingPatients With Stage I Rectal Cancer 2001 | completed | Phase 2 | 320 |
| NCT07555678 | Chemoradiotherapy and Anti-PD-1 Antibody in Anal Squamous Cell Cancer：Chase 2024 | recruiting | Phase 2 | 241 |
| NCT05957016 | Neoadjuvant CIETAI With Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy in Local Advanced Rectal Cancer 2023 | status unknown | Phase 2 | 90 |
| NCT00003799 | Chemotherapy, Radiation Therapy, and Surgery in Treating Patients With Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer 1999 | completed | Phase 1 | 20 |
| NCT02439008 | Early Biomarkers of Tumor Response in High Dose Hypofractionated Radiotherapy Word Package 3 : Immune Response 2015 | terminated | Not applicable | 28 |
| NCT04695184 | Subjective Near-infrared Fluorescence Guidance in Perfusion Assessment of Ileal Pouch Formation and Ileal-pouch-anal Anastomosis 2019 | status unknown | Not applicable | 50 |
| NCT02140723 | p53 and Response to Preoperative Radiotherapy for T2 and T3 2011 | status unknown | Not applicable | 60 |
Published literature
No publication is linked to this pair yet.
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 DGIdb, in this case via the biomarker or target APC. The tier describes how well the drug-disease link is documented, not how well the drug works.
Frequently asked questions
Is Liothyronine approved for Colorectal Cancer?
Liothyronine has reached the approved stage (maximum clinical phase 4) for at least one indication, so its use in Colorectal Cancer would be drug repurposing rather than first-in-human development. This does not mean it is approved for Colorectal Cancer. Approval status for the specific indication should always be confirmed with the relevant regulator and prescribing information.
Is Liothyronine in clinical trials for Colorectal Cancer?
ClinicalTrials.gov lists 8 registered trials linking Liothyronine to Colorectal Cancer: 1 is currently recruiting; 2 have completed; 5 are terminated, withdrawn, suspended or of unknown status. The most advanced is Phase 3 (NCT01653301). It plans or enrolled 616 participants. Registration activity spans 1999 to 2024.
What does the evidence show for Liothyronine in Colorectal Cancer?
Liothyronine has 2 completed registered trials for Colorectal Cancer but no linked publication, which usually means results are unpublished, pending, or not yet matched to this record. OSMF's existing evidence tier for this pair is A (Strong), derived from the strength of the disease association recorded in DGIdb, in this case via the biomarker or target APC. The tier describes how well the drug-disease link is documented, not how well the drug works.
Cite this page
Data: ClinicalTrials.gov, PubMed, Open Targets, ChEMBL, DGIdb and the OSMF therapeutic agent database. Last updated 2026-07-05. Page built 2026-10-07.