Drug that stops breast cancer from growing has been unveiled by British scientists

A team of British scientists have designed a prototype drug which could stop breast cancers from growing and spreading.
Working with laboratory mice , the team found that a protein called lysyl oxidase ( LOX) plays an important role in helping breast cancer to grow and spread .
The scientists have also designed a prototype drug that blocks LOX and in mice is able to slow down the disease .
They now hope to develop a similar medicine suitable for human patients and test it in clinical trials .
Professor Caroline Springer , from the Institute of Cancer Research , London, who co- led the research , said: “ We knew that LOX had a role in cancer ’s spread round the body, but to discover how it also appears to drive the growth of breast cancer cells is a real game changer .
“ It means that drugs that disrupt LOX’s ability to promote growth signals might be able to slow or block cancer progression in patients, as we saw in mice .”
Previously , LOX was known to help control the formation of the extracellular matrix , that is the structure of proteins and connective material that holds tissues together and assists cancer metastasis, or spread .
The new study , published in the journal Nature Communications , showed that it also promoted cancer growth by acting on a molecular receptor called EGFR .
Blocking LOX using the inhibitor drug code -named CCT 365623 slowed tumour growth and reduced cancer spread with no side effects.
Dr. Justine Alford, from Cancer Research UK , whose scientists at the University of Manchester contributed to the discovery, said: “ This research in mice is exciting because it not only reveals new details of how breast cancer grows and spreads , but it could lead to a completely new way to stop these processes in patients if proven in people .
“ This could help improve outcomes for patients, since cancer that has spread is harder to treat.
“ LOX is also thought to play a role in a number of other cancers, so this research could also have applications beyond breast cancer .”