SCOTTISH scientists have discovered new therapies to stop the progression of breast cancer in its tracks.

A fresh study into the disease carried out by Edinburgh University researchers has found a “trigger” that allows breast cancer cells to spread to the lungs.

They found that blocking those signals in mice with breast cancer “greatly reduces” the number of secondary tumours found in the lungs.

Researchers hope their findings may one day translate into new treatments to stop the progression of breast cancer within the human body.

The majority of deaths from breast cancer are said to be caused by the tumour spreading to other parts of the body, with the lungs often among the first organs to be affected.

The university’s MRC Centre for Reproductive Health team investigated the role that immune cells called macrophages play in helping cells from the original tumour to spread.

Their previous breakthrough showed that breast cancer cells need the support of macrophages to invade the lungs and set up secondary tumours.

The team’s latest research found that macrophages require signalling molecules called chemokines to communicate with breast cancer cells.

But when scientists blocked these signals in mice, they found the number of secondary tumours in the lungs was reduced by up to two-thirds.

In addition, blocking the signals helped to stop the cancer cells getting into the lungs from the bloodstream, and hindered those that did get into the lungs from establishing themselves and forming new tumours.

Human cells appear to use the same chemokine signals to communicate with each other, prompting researchers to hope that their findings may translate into new treatments to stop breast cancer spreading to other parts of the body.

Targeting a signalling molecule called CCR1 may result in fewer unwanted side-effects for patients while stopping the spread of breast cancer cells, experts said the results suggest.

Centre director Professor Jeffrey Pollard said: “Our findings open the door to the development of treatments that target the tumour microenvironment, which may stop the deadly progression of breast cancer in its tracks.”

The study – funded by the United States Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health, Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust – is published in the Journal Of Experimental Medicine.

James Jopling, Scotland Director of the Breast Cancer Campaign and Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: “Research supports the idea that cells of the immune system, such as macrophages, play a crucial role in the growth and spread of breast cancer.

“This Scottish study reveals even more detail about the complex relationship of immune cells and cancer cells in the development of secondary breast cancer.

“Although only studied in mice, it’s exciting to learn that knocking out communication between these cells can reduce the chance of a secondary tumour developing in the lungs, as it could highlight a new avenue for research into treatments to stop the development of secondary breast cancer. It will be interesting to see if this work translates into a useful way to treat breast cancer in humans.

“Over 1,000 women die of breast cancer every year in Scotland and secondary breast cancer is responsible for almost all of these deaths so we welcome any research which furthers our understanding of the disease and takes us ever closer to stopping women dying from it.”

Meanwhile, a new treatment for people living with thyroid cancer shows a significant step forward for patients, according to experts.

People with thyroid cancer in the UK are now able to benefit from a new and powerful treatment which could give them an unprecedented amount of time before their disease progresses.

The drug Lenvima® (lenvatinib) is a new option for advanced thyroid cancer, a difficult to treat condition with a poor prognosis.

The launch follows the decision by the European Commission to issue Marketing Authorisation Approval for lenvatinib on May 30.

Radioiodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer is a progressive type of thyroid cancer for which very few therapeutic options currently exist.

Typically patients have 10 year survival rates of only 15 per cent.

In a recent trial the data showed lenvatinib had proven benefits in progression-free survival. With current treatments, the time patients can expect to have before their cancer progresses is, on average, five months.

However, patients on lenvatinib in the trial saw a median time to progression of more than 18 months.

Thyroid cancer is a rare type of cancer that affects the thyroid gland at the base of the neck.

Incidence rates have increased in the UK over the past few decades and there are approximately 2800 new cases in the UK each year.

Lenvatinib is a drug that was part-discovered in the UK, will be manufactured in the UK and, of the EU countries, will be first launched in the UK.