Dopamine to help prevent cancer

Although dopamine is well-known as the hormone that regulates motivation and reward in our brains, could it have cancer-curing properties as well?

While doing random tests, researchers from the National Cancer Research Institute and the University of Ohio serendipitously discovered that directly applying dopamine to tumors checked their growth and even destroyed them entirely.

The dopamine countered the tumors’ vascular growth factor, essentially cutting them off from the ability to take over more cells and continue growing.

Dopamine has several binding sides, so future experiments will focus on exactly how a tumor’s growth factor is affected in humans. Figuring out the answer could revolutionize cancer treatment as we know it.

Not only would dopamine treatment cut out any negative side-effects people experience with conventional cancer treatment, but it would be vastly more affordable than modern treatments.

Although these were animal-model experiments, the results show great promise. According to Sujit Basu, who worked on the project, the team has “published several papers along the way” and is ready for human trials.

Might our “happy hormone” also help prevent or cure cancer?