Oxamate, as a lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) inhibitor, plus phenformin, an anti-diabetic agent, has been tested in conjunction with one another and it was shown that this combination has potential anti-cancer properties. Phenformin when administered by itself has a high incidence of lactic acidosis. Due to the inherent ability of oxamate to prevent the conversion of pyruvate to lactate, oxamate can be used to counterbalance the side effects of phenformin.
