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Major breast cancer breakthrough made in Irish University

Trinity College scientists use new method to restrict tumors

By
CATHAL DERVAN,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer
Published Wednesday, June 1, 2011, 7:39 AM
Updated Wednesday, June 1, 2011, 7:39 AM

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Trinity College researchers believe they have made a major breakthrough in the treatment of breast cancer
Trinity College researchers believe they have made a major breakthrough in the treatment of breast cancer


Trinity College researchers believe they have made a major breakthrough in the treatment of breast cancer.

The Dublin college scientists have discovered that blocking a particular stress response can reduce the spread of breast cancer.

The research was based on a study of women with breast cancer in Ireland between 2000 and 2007 with the results just published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Researchers discovered that those taking drugs that blocked a particular hormone related stress pathway had a much lower risk of dying from their cancer.

Dr Ian Barron, a Health Research Board postdoctoral fellow at TCD, led the research team.

“For patients with cancer, higher levels of stress are associated with more frequent disease recurrence, faster disease progression and higher rates of death from cancer,” Dr Barron told the Irish Examiner.

“Studies have suggested how stress hormones such as adrenaline and oradrenaline could play a role in this process, but this is the first study in humans to show blocking the stress response greatly reduces the risk of cancer spreading or metastasizing.”

The results of the research suggest that, when compared to control groups, women taking the stress hormone blocking drugs in the year prior to their cancer diagnosis were less likely to be diagnosed with invasive or metastatic breast cancer than women who were not taking it.

It also argues that women continuing to take the drugs after their diagnosis were considerably less likely to die from the disease in the five years following diagnosis.

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7 Comments

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painthorselass | Jun 03, 2011, 09:46 AM EDT
My Daughter has beast cancer.. She was diagnosed at 30 yrs. old. Breast cancer at least hers feeds on the hormones. She went through chemo and radiation.. Alas, it came back after 4 1/2 years. We are again treating and found to our dismay that she had heart damage from the first chemo. She is a fighter.. Any research is welcome and prayed for. Here is the USA 1 treatment is $8,000 and the pills are $4,000.. If only these treatment could become less expensive for those who suffer this terrible disease.. Keep up the wonderful work...

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miabryant | Jun 02, 2011, 06:29 AM EDT
How wonderful that great advances are being made to eradicate this horrible disease! And how wonderful it's being made in Ireland!

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MFritch | Jun 01, 2011, 07:01 PM EDT
What an important milestone in the fight against cancer. Regardless of the cost of the drug their is no expense too great to save lives. Trinity keep up the great work.

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CitizenWhy | Jun 01, 2011, 03:50 PM EDT
This is a great step forward. Congratulations! Shows one of the values of universities.

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snakehips | Jun 01, 2011, 03:21 PM EDT
Fabulous, I hope this breakthrough saves millions of lives!

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aidanwalsh | Jun 01, 2011, 01:35 PM EDT
GcMAF pronuunced (GcMAUF)has cured breast cancer patients and any other type of cancer it was used on...it has already cured hiv aids patients...check out dr.yamamoto's research...here is the nobel prize in medicine but should be now changed to the 'yamamoto prize' sincerely aidan walsh southampton, u.k.

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kevinarth | Jun 01, 2011, 10:24 AM EDT
So you have to take these hormone blockers as a preventative regimen as well as after diagnosis in order to see the maximum effect? Considering how expensive drugs like this can be, I'm not sure how successful this could be. I suppose, if you have a family history of the disease, it's worth the cost, but otherwise...?

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