The doctors claim that the new treatment involving a progesterone injection costing only Rs 100 can play a great role in catching the most vicious killer of women and improving breast health, while cutting the need for expensive treatment.
Dr Indraneel Mittra of the Department of Surgical Oncology, said, "Compared to the costly treatment available for breast cancer
, a hydroxy-progesterone injection costs approximately Rs100. This obviously increases its affordability. The best part is there are no side effects."
The trail of 1000 breast cancer patients
The progesterone theory was evaluated as a double-blind trial in which 1000 breast cancer patients were enrolled. Half the volunteers were given 500 mg shot of progesterone for four to 14 days before surgical removal of the tumor while the rest were operated upon without being administered with the injection. All the women in the study were followed up for 65 months.
Dr R. A. Badwe, director of Tata Memorial Hospital and a cancer surgeon stated, “The study revealed a four per cent non-significant improvement in disease free survival. And among the high risk group there is a 10 per cent reduction in recurrence and eight per cent reduction in mortality rate. This translates into 30 per cent relative reduction in deaths among those who would have otherwise died.”
The progesterone theory
The scientists found that women undergoing surgeries for breast cancer during the second half of their menstrual cycle had higher survival rates. Also, the odds of the cancer recurrence were lowered significantly.
Explaining the concept Dr Mittra stated, “The first half of the menstrual cycle under the influence of estrogen prepares the ovum to dislodge from the ovary and travel to the uterus for fertilization. During its second half, progesterone levels in the blood rise to prevent more ova from dislodging.
“This process is akin to cancer tumors whereby cells from the primary tumor dislodge and move to distant organs. Therefore, the hypothesis that progesterone treatment may also prevent spread of cancer became the premise of the study.”
The scientists admit that there is need for further research since they are uncertain about the role progesterone injection plays in reducing breast cancer rates.
However, the promising outcome of the study has encouraged them to consider introducing the progesterone injection as an integral part of the standard treatment for breast cancer.
Breast cancer is emerging as the leading cancer among women across the world with around 1.1 million cases being diagnosed every year.
According to experts about 4,00,000 fall prey to the disease annually. A 30 percent reduction in death rate would mean saving over 1,00,000 lives.
The details of the study were presented at the 32nd San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in the U.S. on Saturday
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