An ingredient in Brazil nuts could hold the key to halting the spread of hard-to-treat breast cancer, research suggests. A study found that starving triple negative breast cancer cells of the antioxidant selenium could kill them. Selenium performs crucial functions in the body and helps to stave off chronic conditions, so cutting it out of our diets is not an option.
But experts hope their findings could lead to a treatment that interferes with uptake of the antioxidant in the body. Researcher Dr Saverio Tardito, who led the work at the Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute in Glasgow, said: “If we can find a treatment that interferes with the uptake of this mineral by triple negative breast cancer cells, we could potentially prevent this cancer spreading to other parts of the body. READ MORE: Prostate cancer blood test could save thousands more lives, charity says “It is not usually breast cancer itself that proves fatal as it can often be tackled successfully with treatment or surgery, it is when the cancer spreads that it proves harder to control.
“With triple negative breast cancer having fewer treatments to control it, finding a new way to prevent it spreading could be life-saving.” Around 56,800 people are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the UK and 15% have triple negative disease. When cancer cells are clustered together, a type of fat molecule containing oleic acid protects them from a type of cell death brought on by selenium starvation.
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