Researcher Dr Eddy Pasquier shows blood pressure pill improves cancer outcomes Dr Eddy Pasquier. (Photo By Erin Byrne) Source: News Limited A commonly used cheap blood pressure treatment has been shown to boost the effectiveness of chemotherapy when treating childhood cancers. Researchers say it paves the way for reducing the doses of toxic chemotherapy drugs given to young children battling cancer. Australian cancer patients have highest survival rates And the implications could be even wider with evidence suggesting the blood pressure drugs may also help boost chemotherapy in breast and other cancers. Researcher Dr Eddy Pasquier who works at the Children's Cancer Institute Australia says tests on mice show that beta blockers, traditionally used in the treatment of high blood pressure, can increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy in childhood cancers, such as neuroblastoma. His study published in the British Journal of Cancer found mice with the tumours typically survived around seven days with chemotherapy treatment but when it was combined with beta blockers they survived 28-30 days. The genesis of Dr Pasquier's discovery came from studies that showed beta blockers worked to reduce non cancerous vascular tumours in children. Retrospective studies of breast cancer patients had also found breast cancer patients who had been on beta blockers at the time of their chemotherapy treatment did better than breast cancer patients not using the medicines. Neuroblastoma is the third most common cancer in children in Australia and more than 30 children a year develop the condition. While 70 per cent do well on existing treatments a third need extra help and Dr Pasquier is hoping to trial the use of beta blockers and chemotherapy in these patients from next year. "Increasing the efficacy of chemotherapy through the use of beta blockers means we can get the same anti-tumour effect with a lower dose of chemotherapy," he said. "Wherever possible we are working towards reducing the toxicity of children's cancer treatment and minimising the short-term and long-term side effects of the chemotherapy," says Dr Pasquier. Dr Pasquier's research was funded by two $100,000 grants from the Balnaves Foundation run by former businessman Neal Balnaves which gives grants to young scientists who can't get funding from more conventional sources.