Health

Drug used to treat nausea could help prevent breast cancer from spreading, study says

By Mallika Marshall, MD

August 8, 2024 / 6:12 PM EDT / CBS Boston

Study on mice shows anti-nausea drug may help stop the spread of breast cancer

BOSTON - A drug used to treat nausea could be used in the fight against breast cancer.

In a new study published in Nature, researchers at Rockefeller University discovered that activation of sensory nerves in breast tumors promotes cancer growth and its spread to other parts of the body.

They also found that an FDA-approved anti-nausea drug called aprepitant could disrupt this pathway and prevent the growth and spread of breast cancer in mice. They said this discovery could pave the way to new treatments in humans.

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Breast Cancer

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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