London: In a study conducted by doctors of Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital has revealed, that a progesterone injection worth Rs 100 can help reduce death rate amongst the breast cancer patients by 30 per cent.

Dr Indraneel Mittra of department of surgical oncology said, “With this treatment there was a clear benefit noted in not only preventing breast cancer recurrence but also in saving lives of women with early (stages of) breast cancer.”

Explaining the procedure, he said, “The first half of the menstrual cycle under the influence of estrogen prepares the ovum to dislodge from the ovary and travel to the uterus for fertilisation. During its second half, progesterone levels in the blood rise to prevent more ova from dislodging.”

He said further, “This process is akin to cancer tumors whereby cells from the primary tumor dislodge and move to distant organs. Therefore, the hypothesis (published in 1991) that progesterone treatment may also prevent spread of cancer became the premise of the study.”