Irish scientists may have discovered a way of treating one of the most aggressive types of breast cancer.

Triple-negative breast cancer is one of the most difficult forms of breast cancer to treat. It is more prevalent in younger women and around 250 people are newly diagnosed with the disease every year in Ireland.

Worldwide, it accounts for around one in six cases of breast cancer.

Currently, it can only be treated with chemotherapy, but this does not work for all patients. However, Irish scientists have found that a new drug, APR-246, can prevent the growth of triple-negative breast cancer cells in the laboratory. If clinical trials are successful, this has the potential to save many patients' lives.

The research was carried out by PhD student, Naoise Synnott, of University College Dublin, under the supervision of Prof Joe Duffy and Prof John Crown. Speaking on RTÉ News, Ms Synnott noted that APR-246 targets a mutation that is found to be in 80% of these breast cancer patients.  

The drug is already used to treat patients with ovarian cancer.

The research was funded by BREAST-PREDICT, a nationwide collaboration between breast cancer experts.

BREAST-PREDICT was established in 2013 and is funded by the Irish Cancer Society, which has described this latest research as a significant milestone.