Surgery to remove cancer could cause tumours to spread
However, researchers may have discovered a way to prevent the spread of cancer.
A new study has found breast cancer surgery could cause more tumours to spread, the Daily Mail reported.
The wound's healing process could be potentially the trigger of the cancer's return. "It's not the actual surgery, but instead it's the post-surgical wound response," Robert Weinberg, a biologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told the Daily Mail.
In order to stop the spread and prevent it from coming back, Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers have discovered "immune system response that leads to the recurrence and identified anti-inflammatory medications that could stop that mechanism", the report revealed.
A Harvard researcher who studies the connection between aspirin and the deadly disease has found the drug could be effective in preventing cancer cells from growing. Further is required investigation to understand the effects.
The cancer returns in 25% of the women who have had a mastectomy or lumpectomy. The risk of it returning is highest within the first 12 to 18 months after surgery. The study's findings bring doctors a step closer to understanding why breast cancer recurs after surgery.
There are close to 40,000 deaths from breast cancer because of the spread and not by the initial tumour that was removed.
The study was originally published the journal Science Translational Medicine.