Many people with cancer do not die from the original tumor itself. Instead, the greatest danger comes when cancer spreads to other parts of the body, a process known as metastasis.
During this process, tiny groups of cancer cells can break away from the main tumor and travel through the blood or lymphatic system. These cells can settle in new organs, where they may grow into new tumors that are much harder to treat.
Surgery is often one of the best ways to remove a cancer tumor. However, even after a successful operation, very small cancer cells can remain hidden inside the body. They are often too tiny to be seen on scans or removed by surgeons.
Because of this, many patients receive chemotherapy after surgery to destroy any remaining cancer cells and lower the chance of the disease returning.
Although chemotherapy has helped many people, scientists have learned that it can also trigger inflammation in the body. Inflammation is a normal part of healing, but in some situations it may create conditions that allow surviving cancer cells to grow and spread.
Researchers have been searching for safe ways to reduce this unwanted effect while still allowing patients to benefit from cancer treatment.
A research team at Emory University believes they may have found one possible solution. The scientists investigated ketorolac, an anti-inflammatory medicine that has been used for many years to treat short-term pain.
Their findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, suggest that giving ketorolac before surgery could help reduce the risk of cancer spreading afterward.
The study, led by Dr. Vikas P. Sukhatme, showed that ketorolac appears to strengthen the body’s immune system. Instead of only reducing pain, the medicine also helped the immune system find and destroy tiny cancer cells that may have been left behind after surgery.
This could explain why earlier studies found that some breast cancer patients who received ketorolac around the time of surgery later experienced less cancer spread.
The researchers tested the treatment in mice and found encouraging results. Animals given ketorolac survived longer because fewer cancer cells spread to other parts of the body.
Since ketorolac has already been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for pain relief, scientists hope this could speed up future research into its use as a cancer treatment, although doctors remain careful because the medicine can have side effects in some patients.
The team also explored whether combining ketorolac with other simple treatments could provide even greater protection. They found that adding low-dose aspirin and omega-3 fatty acids improved the results. More mice survived, and fewer developed signs of cancer spreading compared with those that received ketorolac alone.
These findings are exciting because they suggest that well-known medicines already available today could be given new roles in cancer care. Reusing existing drugs can sometimes be faster and less expensive than developing completely new medicines, especially when doctors already understand their safety and how they work in the body.
Even so, much more research is needed before this approach becomes part of routine cancer treatment. Results from animal studies do not always match what happens in people, so carefully designed clinical trials will be needed to confirm whether ketorolac can safely reduce cancer spread after surgery in patients.
If future studies confirm these early findings, a simple and inexpensive medicine could become an important new tool in helping people stay cancer-free after surgery. The research offers fresh hope that improving the body’s own immune response may one day help stop cancer before it has the chance to spread.
If you care about cancer, please read studies that low-carb diet could increase overall cancer risk, and new way to increase the longevity of cancer survivors.
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