SYDNEY, July 15 (Xinhua) -- A common anti-nausea drug has been linked to improved survival rates in women with early-stage breast cancer, particularly those with more aggressive triple-negative breast cancer, a study said on Tuesday.

Australian and Norwegian researchers studied 13,811 Norwegian women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer from 2008 to 2020, all of whom received chemotherapy and anti-nausea medication, according to a statement released by the Melbourne-based Monash University on Tuesday.

Women who took aprepitant during chemotherapy had an 11 percent lower risk of cancer recurrence and a 17 percent lower risk of breast cancer death over 10 years, said the study co-led by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

The benefit was even greater for those with triple-negative breast cancer, a particularly aggressive and difficult-to-treat subtype, with a 34 percent reduced risk of recurrence and a 39 percent lower risk of death, it said.

"Because of the nature of triple-negative breast cancer, there are fewer targeted treatment options, and therefore repurposing of drugs with well-established safety profiles is an attractive path for rapid translation to improve cancer treatment and outcomes," said lead researcher Aeson Chang from the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS).

No similar benefits were observed with other classes of anti-nausea drugs, highlighting aprepitant's unique association with improved outcomes, according to the study detailed in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published by Oxford University Press.

Professor Erica Sloan from MIPS said the findings could lead to a review of current guidelines, which limit aprepitant use to patients at high risk of severe nausea.

The authors emphasized that more studies and clinical trials are needed to confirm aprepitant's link to improved cancer outcomes. ■