Most cancer deaths happen because the disease spreads to other parts of the body. This spreading process is called metastasis.
It allows cancer cells to move from the original tumor and form small clusters in other places. These clusters are often too small for doctors to see or remove during surgery.
To help remove any leftover cancer cells, many patients are given chemotherapy after surgery. But chemotherapy has its limits. It can cause inflammation in the body, and this inflammation might actually help cancer spread. Because of this, scientists have been searching for better ways to stop metastasis.
A recent study from Emory University offers new hope. Researchers found that a common anti-inflammatory drug called ketorolac might help. Ketorolac is already approved by the FDA and is usually used for short-term pain relief.
In this study, scientists gave ketorolac to mice before surgery and found that it helped the immune system fight cancer cells that were trying to spread.
The drug seems to work by lowering harmful inflammation and boosting the body’s natural ability to attack cancer. This may explain earlier studies that showed breast cancer patients who got ketorolac during surgery were less likely to have their cancer come back or spread.
In the new study, mice treated with ketorolac had fewer cancer cells spreading and lived longer. The researchers didn’t stop there. They also tested a mix of ketorolac, low-dose aspirin, and omega-3 fatty acids. This combination worked even better to prevent cancer from spreading and helped the mice live even longer.
This finding suggests that combining different anti-inflammatory treatments may be a powerful way to stop metastasis.
Even though ketorolac is already approved, it’s not often used for cancer treatment. That’s because of concerns about possible side effects. However, the researchers believe that the benefits may outweigh the risks—especially if the drug is only used for a short time around the time of surgery.
The research team, led by Dr. Vikas P. Sukhatme, hopes these findings will lead to better treatments for people with cancer. They are now studying how ketorolac could be used along with other cancer therapies to help patients live longer and healthier lives.
This study, which appeared in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, shows how existing medicines can be used in new ways to fight cancer. While more research is needed, this approach could give doctors a new tool to stop cancer from spreading—and may help save more lives.
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