Steroid creams could help body fight cancer

STEROID creams could help fight cancer thanks to an unexpected discovery, according to research.

- By Jane Kirby

Experts at the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute found they can shrink melanoma tumours.

And they believe the mechanism could also be effective against other cancers too.

Steroids block a protein called garp that helps cancer hide from the immune system, which was then able to activate to fight cancer cells.

Cancer specialist Dr Charles Earnshaw, who is also a dermatologist, said: "Surprisingly, the only cream treatment that did result in tumour shrinkage were topical steroids.

Potential

"This was unexpected, but the breakthrough came when we saw the steroids acting to actually stimulate an immune response against the cancer, despite the fact that steroids are inherently immunosuppressive or dampen the immune system.