![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Laboratory-Research-chemistry-viles-Fotolia-licensed-low-res.jpg\")
File photo<\/p>\n File photo<\/p>\n
A drug often used to treat asthma and allergies may also help fight aggressive cancers, according to new US research.<\/p>\n
The study revealed how tumors hijack common white blood cells to evade immunotherapy.<\/p>\n
Scientists say their findings in mice and human tissues point to a new way to improve treatment for tough tumors\u2014like triple-negative breast cancer\u2014on which immunotherapy often fails.<\/p>\n
The best news is the breakthrough could quickly move into clinical testing because the drug\u2014montelukast, commonly known by the brand name Singulair\u2014is already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.<\/p>\n
The research team from Northwestern University in Illinois explained that at the center of the discovery is a molecule called CysLTR1, which is best known for its role in asthma and inflammation.<\/p>\n
Drugs that block it, such as montelukast, have been prescribed for decades to treat asthma.<\/p>\n
The Northwestern team learned that many cancers exploit CysLTR1 to resist treatment. Specifically, the tumors trick the immune system into helping them grow by increasing a group of white blood cells called neutrophils.<\/p>\n
They discovered it\u2019s controlled by the CysLTR1 molecule, which acts as an on\/off switch.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we turned off this switch, either genetically or with existing drugs, we not only slowed tumor growth, but also helped the immune system recover its ability to fight the cancer,\u201d said study senior author<\/a> Professor Bin Zhang.<\/p>\n MORE GOOD CANCER NEWS:\u00a0<\/strong> Prof. Zhang and his colleagues from Northwestern\u2019s Feinberg School of Medicine combined experiments in mouse models, human immune cells, and human tumor samples with analysis of large patient cancer datasets.<\/p>\n The mouse studies included models with triple-negative breast cancer, melanoma, ovarian cancer, colon cancer. and prostate cancer. The researchers either genetically removed CysLTR1 or blocked it using drugs such as montelukast.<\/p>\n In several mouse models, blocking the pathway slowed tumor growth, improved survival, and restored response to cancer-killing immunotherapy.<\/p>\n That worked even in tumors that had already stopped responding to treatment.<\/p>\n Zhang\u2019s team also analyzed human immune cells. The findings, published in the journal<\/a> Nature Cancer, again showed that blocking CysLTR1 prevented the formation of immune-suppressing neutrophils.<\/p>\n \u201cImportantly, instead of simply removing these harmful white blood cells, we were able to reprogram them into cells that support immune attack.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Groundbreaking Bowel Cancer Trial Had Zero Relapses for Patients After 33 Months<\/a>
\u2022 Prostate Cancer Patients Offered Fresh Hope by Promising New Drug Combination<\/a><\/p>\n