Can a sea sponge improve breast cancer survival rates?
UK scientists have been researching a new drug that could improve breast cancer survival rates amongst women with an advanced form of the disease. The drug has been developed by extracting a natural substance from a sea sponge that has the ability to slow cancer growth. The new chemotherapy drug is called eribulin mesylate, which has been tested on a number of women with advanced breast cancer. The medical trials have shown that breast cancer survival rates in women who took eribulin were 25% longer than those who didn’t receive the drug. Overall, the drug didn’t show any extreme side effects. Though eribulin doesn’t actually cure advanced breast cancer, it does prolong the life of the sufferer. And it’s a step in the right direction to finding a cure. A lead investigator at the Leeds University Cancer Research UK Clinical Centre commented on the drug: “Until now, there hasn’t really been a standard treatment for women with such advanced breast cancer. For those women who have already
