Blood Pressure Drugs Prevent Cancer Spread

By Devaki

Tuesday, May 25, 2010, 14:41

The ability of breast cancer to spread around the body can be reduced with the help of blood pressure drugs, says the new studies. The drugs can block the hormones that trigger the spread of cancer cells.

Breast cancer is most easily tackled when tumours are confined only to the breast. But when the cancer cells will migrate to other parts of the body and start growing, this process is known as metastasis. With metastasis, the likelihood of successful treatment begins to fall.

The latest research conducted based on the earlier laboratory studies, suggests that the ability of cancer cells to increase in number and spread is boosted by the presence of stress hormones.

The beta blockers attach themselves to the same receptors on cancer cells used by these hormones, potentially reduces their ability to stimulate the cell and trigger spread.

"It is reasonable to speculate, therefore, that some non-hypertensive women with breast cancer will respond favourably to beta-blocker treatment, though doses and side-effects would need to be investigated in clinical trials," says the researchers.