Scientists discover drug that can halt the recurrence and spread of breast cancer

By Joe Morgan via SWNS

In a world-first scientists have found a health supplement drug that can halt the recurrence and spread of breast cancer.

The molecule, called MitoQ stopped spread in 80 percent of cases and recurrence in 75 percent and has been hailed as a "giant step" by researchers.

Originally tested on mice, it has already completed its first clinical phase on healthy men and women found to only cause some nausea, and in worst cases, vomiting.

The next step is to test its efficacy in cancer patients.

Researchers were intent to find something to help triple-negative breast cancer patients which account for around 1 in 10 of all breast cancers, or 225,000 worldwide.

Around half of the patients will develop local recurrences or spread leading to secondary malignant growths, regardless of the treatment they receive.

Patients suffering from pervasive triple-negative breast cancer have only a one in 10 chance of a cure.

Researchers treated mice affected by human breast cancer with a combination of typical treatments: surgery and a cocktail of chemotherapy.

Then the scientists from the University of Louvain, in France, supplemented the treatment with the drug, MitoQ.

This treatment was able to prevent both relapse and spread of breast cancer in the mice.

Dr. Pierre Sonveaux, researcher at the university, said: “We expected to be able to block the metastases but preventing the recurrence of the cancer was totally unexpected.

"Getting this type of result is a huge motivation for us to carry on.

"In short, this is a giant step given that the three main causes of cancer mortality are recurrences, the spread of the cancer caused by metastasis and resistance to treatment.

"And that there is currently no other known molecule capable of acting like MitoQ."

Mitoquinone mesylate (MitoQ) is a synthetic molecule developed in New Zealand in the late 1990s as an antioxidant and is currently sold as a dietary supplement promoting energy and vitality.

The study was published in the journal Cancers.