News Detail
Antibiotic may prevent breast cancer recurrence
2018-10-09

One of cancer researchers top priorities is discovering ways to reduce the risk that cancer will recur or metastasize. A recent, small-scale study may have found a common, cost-effective drug that does just that.
Breast cancer cell
An antibiotic might help prevent breast cancer from coming back.
Cancer stem cells (CSCs), also known as tumor-initiating cells, are a hot topic among researchers.
These cells are resistant to current treatments and play a significant role in both metastasis and recurrence, which are two of the biggest challenges in cancer treatment.
Because of this, finding successful ways of clearing up CSCs is of great interest.
Researchers from the University of Salford in the United Kingdom may have uncovered a treatment that could play an important role.
These scientists spend their time testing drugs that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have already approved. They investigate whether any existing medicines might also be able to help in the fight against cancer.
Concentrating on drugs in this way means that if they do find an existing drug that works against cancer, it could potentially reach the clinic faster.
In a recent paper now published in the journal Frontiers in Oncology, the scientists outline the potential use of an antibiotic called doxycycline to clear up CSCs.