The newest 'cure' for breast cancer: Scientists reveal unexpected new findings with an osteoporosis drug

The research team believes they can stop cancerous cells from spreading to the bones.

Scientists have recently discovered a way to prevent breast cancer from spreading into the bones. This could serve as good news for women everywhere whose lives can now be saved from breast cancer. Scientists hope this new discovery will finally lower death rates associated with breast cancer. In the UK, more than 50,000 people are suffering from the cancer annually.  

MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - About 85 percent of 12,000 breast cancer deaths in the UK are caused by tumors in the bones. Scientists have found a way of actually averting the cancerous cells' tendency to infect the patient's bones. It has been discovered that a certain type of drug can stop the cancer cells from penetrating the bones in roughly 30 percent of cases.

The discovery, published in the journal Nature, deals with drugs known as bisphosphonates. These drugs are surprisingly already in use as medical treatment for osteoporosis, and will be subjected to further clinical tests for validation and verification purposes.

The team, led by experts at Sheffield University, hopes the drug verification tests will reveal that the drugs can indeed effectively isolate breast cancer in most-at-risk patients, ending the spread of the cancerous cells.

"The findings in this early research indicate an exciting step towards a better understanding of how some breast cancers spread to the bones," explained Samia al Qadhi from Breast Cancer Care. "This could, in future, help lay the basis for new and improved treatments and therapies for people with breast cancer."

"Our research has shed light on the way breast cancer cells prime the bone so it is ready for their arrival," stated Dr. Janina Erler of Copenhagen University. "If we were able to block this process and translate our work to the clinic, we could stop breast cancer in its tracks, thereby extending patients' lives."

If secondary cancers are stopped, a drastic reduction in the 15 percent rate of people with breast cancer who die within 5 years of diagnosis can be possible.

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