A common numbing medicine slowed brain tumor growth in lab and mouse tests
Original title: Lidocaine suppresses glioma growth through DPP9-mediated ferroptosis.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was done in animals, not people. Most findings at this stage never become treatments.
This was only tested in lab cells and mice, not in people.
The short version
Lidocaine, a numbing medicine doctors already use, slowed glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are given a grade from 1 to 4 describing how the tumor is expected to behave. See the glossary growth in cells and mice.
What was studied. Researchers tested lidocaine on human glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are given a grade from 1 to 4 describing how the tumor is expected to behave. See the glossary cells in the lab and on tumors grown in mice. They also looked for the gene it may act on.
What they found. Lidocaine slowed how fast the tumor cells grew and spread in the lab. It also shrank tumor growth in mice. It seemed to work by acting on a gene called DPP9, which pushed the tumor cells toward a certain kind of cell death.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: Lidocaine is already widely used as a numbing medicine. So scientists may want to study it more as an added treatment for glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are given a grade from 1 to 4 describing how the tumor is expected to behave. See the glossary someday.
What it doesn't mean: This was only done in cells and mice, not in people. It is not a treatment you can ask for today. It is a long way from everyday care, and it is not a cure. Patients should not try lidocaine on their own for a tumor.
Source: PubMed, September 17, 2026 · Read the original
This plain-language summary was written by AI and published automatically after passing our automatic safety checks. How we write.