According to the U. S. researchers, the drug, called iloprost that is approved to treat a range of conditions may also solve the problem of preventing lung cancer.

The researchers claim that the drug can work in preventing lung cancer in those people who have given up smoking.

The drug, iloprost, used in inhaled forms is used to treat pulmonary hypertension, scleroderma and a nerve condition called Raynaud's phenomenon.

Reports claim that, Dr. Robert Keith of the Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center and colleagues undertook a test of the oral version to adjudge whether the drug might prevent lung cancer in smokers and former smokers.

Following the test, the researchers said that, “Oral iloprost showed promise for preventing lung cancer in former, but not current, smokers in a phase II clinical trial".

The experts explain that, iloprost is a version of prostacyclin, a drug that is in the prostaglandin class and is used in the prevention of lung cancer in mice.

In the endeavor to discover the drug for lung cancer, Keith had been testing several drugs. He also examined the biopsies that were taken from the lungs of 125 current and former smokers.

The half lot was treated with placebo while the other half with iloprost. Following the treatments and bronchoscopy examinations were performed to assess precancerous changes in the lungs.

It was discovered that six months later, former smokers reflected significant improvements on all the measures that indicated the treatment with iloprost may reduce the risk of developing lung cancer among former smokers.

However, the researchers said that for the current smokers no significant improvements were noticed.