As more and more research gets done about cancer, there is more about what can cure cancer that comes to light – either by accident or concentrated effort.
It has recently been found that an arthritis drug could help to prevent skin cancer, and that the breast cancer drug tamoxifen could offer long term protection against cancer.
Laboratory tests have offered encouraging results, leading researchers to believe that it could be possible to prevent skin cancer by using an arthritis drug that is commonly prescribed.
It is a rheumatoid arthritis drug that is thought to be able to arrest the growth of malignant melanoma which is the most dangerous type of skin cancer.
It is a drug called leflunomide that was seen to slow down the progress of the skin cancer over a short period of time of just 12 days.
It was seen to be a particularly promising treatment when used in conjunction with experimental melanoma therapy called PLX4032.
The aim of this therapy is to block a protein called BRAF which is seen to be active in a majority of melanoma cases.
This is an important advancement in treating skin cancers, the severity and numbers of which are seen to be increasing in recent times.
New research done with regard to the anti breast cancer drug Tamoxifen, has shown that if it is taken for a period of 5 years rather than the usual two years, it can provide long-term cancer protection benefits and can also help protect against heart disease.
The protection against cancer and heart disease was seen even 15 years after the treatment, found researchers of the study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
This is good news for women who are worried about the reoccurrence of their cancer since they will be able to get longer term protection against their cancer returning.
