Cancer becomes far more dangerous when it spreads from its original location to other parts of the body. This process is called metastasis, and it is responsible for most cancer-related deaths around the world.
While doctors can often remove or shrink the main tumor with surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy, metastatic cancer is much harder to control.
When cancer spreads, tiny groups of cancer cells break away from the original tumor and travel through the blood or lymph system. These cells can settle in other organs such as the lungs, liver, brain, or bones and begin growing there.
The problem is that these small cancer clusters are often too tiny to detect during scans or surgery. Even after a tumor is removed, hidden cancer cells may still remain inside the body.
Because of this risk, many cancer patients receive chemotherapy after surgery. This treatment is designed to destroy leftover cancer cells before they can grow again.
Chemotherapy has helped save many lives, but it also has limitations. The drugs can damage healthy cells and cause difficult side effects such as nausea, fatigue, hair loss, and weakened immunity.
Scientists have also learned something surprising in recent years. Some cancer treatments can create inflammation in the body, and this inflammation may actually help cancer cells survive and spread. Inflammation is part of the body’s natural response to injury or illness, but too much inflammation can sometimes create conditions that support cancer growth.
Now, researchers at Emory University believe they may have found a simple way to reduce this problem using an old and familiar drug called ketorolac.
Ketorolac is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, or NSAID. It belongs to the same family of medications as ibuprofen and aspirin. Doctors have used ketorolac for many years to relieve short-term pain after surgery or injury.
However, it is not usually prescribed for long periods because it can cause side effects such as stomach bleeding or kidney problems if used too much.
In the new study, researchers led by Dr. Vikas P. Sukhatme explored whether ketorolac could help stop cancer from spreading after surgery. Their results were very encouraging.
The scientists tested the drug in mice with cancer. Before surgery, some of the mice were treated with ketorolac while others were not. The researchers discovered that mice receiving ketorolac developed fewer metastatic tumors after surgery. Even more importantly, these mice survived longer.
The team found that ketorolac appeared to strengthen the body’s immune response against spreading cancer cells. Instead of allowing tiny cancer clusters to settle and grow in new areas, the immune system became more active in attacking and destroying them.
The findings may also help explain something doctors noticed years ago in breast cancer patients. Earlier studies had reported that patients who received ketorolac around the time of surgery seemed less likely to experience cancer recurrence or metastasis later on.
At the time, researchers were unsure why this happened. The new Emory University study may finally provide a possible explanation.
The researchers continued experimenting to see whether ketorolac could work even better when combined with other anti-inflammatory substances. They added low-dose aspirin and omega-3 fatty acids, which are healthy fats commonly found in fish oil.
Omega-3 fatty acids are already known for their anti-inflammatory benefits and are often linked to heart and brain health. Aspirin also reduces inflammation and is sometimes used to help prevent heart attacks and strokes.
When the researchers combined ketorolac with aspirin and omega-3 fatty acids, the results improved further. Mice treated with all three substances showed stronger immune activity, fewer metastatic tumors, and better survival rates than mice treated with ketorolac alone.
The study highlights an important idea that scientists are increasingly exploring: inflammation may play a major role in helping cancer spread. After surgery or chemotherapy, the body enters a healing state that can increase inflammation. Unfortunately, this environment may also help hidden cancer cells survive and grow.
By reducing inflammation, drugs like ketorolac and aspirin may make the body less welcoming to cancer cells. At the same time, they may allow the immune system to work more effectively against the disease.
Researchers believe this approach could eventually become part of standard cancer treatment in the future. However, they caution that much more research is needed before ketorolac can be widely recommended for cancer patients.
The current study was conducted in mice, not humans. Scientists still need to study how ketorolac works in different types of cancer, determine the safest doses, and carefully examine possible side effects.
Long-term use of NSAIDs can sometimes increase the risk of bleeding, stomach ulcers, or kidney damage, so doctors would need to balance the benefits and risks carefully.
Still, the idea of using an inexpensive and already approved drug to fight cancer is exciting. Developing brand-new cancer drugs often takes many years and costs enormous amounts of money. Existing medications like ketorolac already have known safety records, which may help speed up future clinical trials.
The findings also show that important medical breakthroughs do not always come from completely new inventions. Sometimes, scientists discover new uses for medicines that have existed for decades.
If future studies in humans confirm these results, ketorolac could become an important tool for preventing cancer from returning after surgery. This could improve survival rates and reduce the emotional and physical burden of cancer treatment for many patients.
If you care about cancer, please read studies that a low-carb diet could increase overall cancer risk, and vitamin D supplements could strongly reduce cancer death.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about how drinking milk affects the risks of heart disease and cancer and results showing higher intake of dairy foods linked to higher prostate cancer risk.
The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Copyright © 2026 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
