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New Drug May Slash Breast Cancer Risk
17 Oct
Summary
- A single dose of cabergoline may significantly lower breast cancer risk.
- Drug showed a 69% risk reduction in pooled data from Spain and Norway.
- A clinical trial is planned to test cabergoline in high-risk women.
A drug available in maternity wards, cabergoline, is showing promise in preventing breast cancer for women at high risk. Typically used to halt milk production, this medication may offer a single-dose solution.
Initial findings from health records in Spain and Norway suggest that women who received cabergoline developed breast cancer at a substantially lower rate. Pooled data indicates a potential risk reduction of approximately 69%.
Research in mice with genetic predispositions to aggressive breast cancers demonstrated that a single dose of cabergoline administered after weaning significantly reduced tumor development. This effect was observed only when the drug was given at the appropriate time, following pregnancy and nursing.
Human registry data from Spain and Norway, while limited by a small number of cancer diagnoses among treated women, supports these findings. The observed risk reduction suggests cabergoline aids in clearing at-risk cells from breast tissue.
A large-scale, multi-country clinical trial is now being funded to further test cabergoline's efficacy in women carrying BRCA mutations. This trial will administer the drug or a placebo after participants choose to stop breastfeeding, tracking markers linked to future cancer risk.
Researchers emphasize that these findings do not currently recommend cabergoline for cancer prevention or advise against breastfeeding. The trial, anticipated to begin recruitment in 2027, aims to determine if the drug truly prevents breast cancer in women.
