Abortion Drug RU-486 May Prevent Breast Cancer
CBS News has a story noting that RU-486’s progesterone-blocking ability helps prevent breast cancer in mice carrying a dangerous “cancer gene”, a new study shows. While RU-486 is not safe for long-term use, other progesterone-blocking drugs are on the way to treat women carrying the BRCA1 gene mutation, says UCI Professor Eva Y.H.P. Lee.
“To prevent cancer, many women who are BRCA1 carriers have very traumatic surgery — their ovaries and both breasts are removed,” Lee tells WebMD.
“Many of these women have asked us about clinical use of RU-486, but it would have too many side effects for prevention use,” she says. “However, I am happy to say that for the past three years there have been companies working on more appropriate anti-progesterone drugs.”
Lee and colleagues report their findings in the Dec. 1 issue of Science.