Cancer becomes much harder to treat when it spreads from its original location to other parts of the body. This process, known as metastasis, is responsible for most cancer-related deaths worldwide.
In many cases, doctors can successfully remove a primary tumor through surgery, but tiny groups of cancer cells may already have escaped and traveled elsewhere in the body. These hidden cells can later grow into new tumors, making the disease much more difficult to control.
Metastasis occurs when cancer cells break away from the original tumor and enter the bloodstream or lymphatic system. Once these cells reach other organs, they can settle there and begin forming new tumors.
Because these cancer cells are often extremely small, they can be difficult to detect with scans or remove during surgery. Even after a successful operation, some cancer cells may remain behind without anyone knowing.
To reduce this risk, many cancer patients receive chemotherapy after surgery. This treatment aims to destroy any remaining cancer cells before they can grow and spread. While chemotherapy has helped many people, it also comes with side effects. One of these side effects is inflammation, which is the body’s natural response to injury or stress.
Inflammation is an important part of healing, but too much inflammation can create problems. Scientists have found that inflammation can sometimes create conditions that help cancer cells survive, move through the body, and establish new tumors.
This has raised an important question for researchers: could reducing inflammation after cancer surgery help prevent metastasis?
A team of researchers at Emory University believes the answer may be yes. Their work has focused on an older pain-relieving drug called ketorolac, a medication that has been available for many years.
Ketorolac belongs to a group of medicines called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs. This group also includes familiar medications such as ibuprofen and naproxen.
Ketorolac is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for short-term pain relief, particularly after surgery. Because it can cause side effects when used for long periods, doctors typically prescribe it for only a limited time.
The researchers wondered whether ketorolac’s anti-inflammatory properties could do more than relieve pain. They investigated whether the drug could help the immune system eliminate cancer cells that might be trying to spread after surgery.
The study was led by Dr. Vikas P. Sukhatme and his colleagues. In their experiments, mice received ketorolac before undergoing cancer surgery. The results were striking.
The researchers found that ketorolac appeared to strengthen the body’s ability to fight cancer cells that had begun moving to other parts of the body. Mice treated with the drug developed fewer metastatic cancer cells in distant organs compared with mice that did not receive the treatment. They also survived longer.
These findings may help explain observations made years ago in human patients. Doctors had previously noticed that some breast cancer patients who received ketorolac around the time of surgery seemed less likely to experience cancer recurrence or metastasis.
At the time, researchers could not fully explain why this happened. The new study offers a possible biological explanation for those earlier observations.
The team also explored whether combining ketorolac with other common substances could provide even greater benefits. They tested a combination of ketorolac, low-dose aspirin, and omega-3 fatty acids.
Omega-3 fatty acids are healthy fats commonly found in fish, fish oil supplements, and certain plant foods. They have long been studied for their potential anti-inflammatory effects and possible benefits for heart and brain health.
The combination therapy produced even stronger results than ketorolac alone. The treated mice showed more powerful immune responses, fewer tumors, and longer survival. These findings suggest that several anti-inflammatory approaches working together may provide greater protection against cancer spread.
The idea behind this strategy is relatively simple. Cancer cells often take advantage of inflammation to help them survive and spread. By reducing inflammation, drugs such as ketorolac and aspirin may create a less favorable environment for cancer cells while giving the immune system a better chance to identify and destroy them.
Researchers emphasize that these findings are still at an early stage. Although the results in mice are encouraging, further studies will be needed to determine whether the same benefits occur in people.
Scientists must also identify which types of cancer are most likely to respond, what doses are safest, and how these treatments should be used alongside existing cancer therapies.
If future clinical trials confirm these findings, ketorolac could become an attractive addition to cancer treatment because it is already widely available, relatively inexpensive, and well understood by doctors. Repurposing existing medicines can sometimes speed up the development of new treatments because much of the safety information is already known.
This research highlights an important trend in modern medicine. Scientists are increasingly looking at familiar drugs in new ways, searching for hidden benefits that could help patients with serious diseases.
Sometimes the next breakthrough does not come from a brand-new medicine but from discovering a new use for one that has been sitting on pharmacy shelves for years.
If you care about cancer, please read studies that artificial sweeteners are linked to higher cancer risk, and how drinking milk affects risks of heart disease and cancer.
For more health information, please see recent studies about the best time to take vitamins to prevent heart disease, and results showing vitamin D supplements strongly reduces cancer death.
The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
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