A NEW cervical cancer drug that starves tumours of blood could boost the effectiveness of chemotherapy helping sufferers survive for longer.

At present only two to three out of 10 patients with recurrent or secondary cervical cancer have tumour shrinkage after conventional chemotherapy and life expectancy is usually less than one year.

But patients given the new drug Cediranib, developed by AstraZeneca, alongside chemotherapy treatment had greater tumour shrinkage and an increase in median progression-free survival rates.

The Cancer Research UK-funded study was led by researchers at the University of Leicester, with key collaborators from the Universities of Glasgow, Manchester and Edinburgh.

It found the combination may be beneficial for patients with metastatic or recurrent cervical cancer and could pave the way for future treatment.