The treatment of cancer could be revolutionized by the discovery that existing drugs, used to treat depression and heart disease, could reverse key changes in cancer cells that are associated with their ability to spread.

Cancer starts when certain changes take place within the genes inside the nucleus of a cell — the cell’s command centre which contains its DNA.

When examined under a microscope cancer cells look abnormal, and for over 150 years scientists have used changes in the size of the cell’s nucleus to diagnose cancer and its severity.

In many types of cancer these size changes are linked to increased metastasis, the ability of cancer cells to spread, reducing the chances of survival. Yet, few treatments specifically target metastasis.

To tackle this, researchers at the Universities of Edinburgh, Montreal, and Eastern Finland screened drugs in the lab that reversed nucleus size changes in cells from three cancers — prostate, colon and lung.

The screen identified many existing cancer drugs, but also uncovered drugs not previously used to treat cancer, including those used for depression, heart disease and killing parasitic worms.

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Materials provided by University of Edinburgh. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.