An international study published in Cancer Discovery indicates that cabergoline, a drug used to suppress milk production, could significantly reduce breast cancer risk after childbirth. Health records of over 150,000 women showed a 70% lower risk among those who used cabergoline, mirroring mouse study results where single doses halved tumor incidence in BRCA1 and TP53 mutation models. Researchers are now planning clinical trials to evaluate cabergoline as a preventive option post-weaning.
Cabergoline study findings in women and mice
- ▪Testing a single dose of cabergoline in mice carrying BRCA1 and TP53 mutations reduced breast tumor incidence rates by approximately half.
- ▪In mouse studies, cabergoline accelerated post-weaning involution by reducing precancerous tissue, shrinking ductal area, decreasing cell growth, and boosting immune cells that clear damaged cells.
- ▪A study published in Cancer Discovery analyzing health records of over 150,000 women in Spain and Norway found that cabergoline use was associated with an approximate 70% reduction in subsequent breast cancer risk.
Breast involution and cancer risk
- ▪After breastfeeding ends, the breast undergoes involution, a natural cleanup process where milk-producing ductal structures retreat and excess tissue is removed.
- ▪Researchers found that incomplete mammary gland involution following weaning can leave behind cells that may become cancerous.
Upcoming clinical trial on BRCA1 carriers
- ▪The planned clinical trial will recruit women with a BRCA1 mutation, administering cabergoline or a placebo after weaning to monitor biological markers linked to breast cancer risk.
- ▪An international research team secured funding from the Gray Foundation to conduct a clinical trial spanning multiple countries to test cabergoline in humans.
Cabergoline regulatory approval
- ▪If clinical trials succeed, cabergoline's existing regulatory approval could accelerate its path to being used as a breast cancer prevention strategy.
- ▪Cabergoline, a medication used to stop milk production after pregnancy loss or when breastfeeding is not possible, holds existing approval from regulatory agencies including Health Canada and the European Medicines Agency.
Breast cancer prevention
- ▪Existing preventative options for women at high risk of breast cancer include hormone therapy or surgery, both carrying substantial physical and emotional side effects.
- ▪Researchers emphasized that any preventive intervention targeting involution would be considered only after a woman has completely finished breastfeeding.
Breast cancer statistics
- ▪Approximately one in eight women in Canada will develop breast cancer in their lifetime, highlighting the need for new preventive strategies.
- ▪Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death among younger women, with a majority of these cases occurring in the years following pregnancy.
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