Drug could help slow half of breast cancers, study suggests

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Drug could help slow half of breast cancers, study suggests

By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News website

A cheap and safe drug could help half of women with breast cancer to live longer, scientists suggest.

Their study, published in Nature, is in its early stages, but hints that the hormone progesterone could be used to slow the growth of some tumours.

The UK and Australian researchers say the findings are "very significant" and they are planning clinical trials.

Cancer Research UK said the study was "highly significant" and could help thousands of women.

Hormones play a huge role in breast cancer.

They can make a cancerous cell divide by hooking up with "hormone receptors" on the surface of a cancer.

One of the most successful breast cancer drugs, tamoxifen, bungs up the oestrogen receptor.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-33444613

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