Published: 7:04AM Saturday February 01, 2014 Source: ONE News

Scientists are working on a cost-effective drug that targets only cancer tissue, leaving the rest of the body unscathed.

The Breast Cancer Foundation says it is excited by the Otago University research into finding new ways to treat breast cancer.

Breast cancer kills 650 New Zealand women a year and researcher DrRhonda Rosengren says the research findings so far are really good.

"We're seeing really nice suppression of tumour growth compared to the untreated control,"Dr Rosengren says.

Of the 3000 women diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012, about 20% had an aggressive form known as triple negative breast cancer and it is this form which is being targeted with "nano-medicine".

The treatment attacks only triple negative tumour tissue, reducing the need for costly and gruelling chemotherapy.

"Because of specific things that are different in the way a tumour is set up and healthy cells are set up, it goes specifically into that tumour and spares the rest of the body,"Dr Rosengren said, adding treatment can be targeted to individuals.

"Things we know about your tumour, we can give you more, give someone else less."

The Breast Cancer Foundation has committed $100,000 to the research.

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Researchers study new ways of treating breast cancer