Although pharmaceutical firms recommend that many anti-cancer drugs should be taken on an empty stomach, researchers at Radboud teaching hospital in Nijmegen say a light breakfast can actually reduce the need for high doses of medicine, the Volkskrant reported on Monday.

The research project is one of dozens underway within hospitals themselves to try and cut costs, the paper said. This one is being funded by health insurance company VGZ.

Hospital pharmacist Floor Lubberman found last year that doses of the drug named Pazopanib, which is used in the treatment of kidney cancer, can be cut by 25% if taken at the same time as a light breakfast. That would generate a spending cut of €3m a year if applied nationwide.

The same principle is now being applied to medicine used in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. Initial findings suggest the dose could be cut by 50% if coupled with a light breakfast, the paper said.

Radboud Pharmacist Nielka van Erp told the paper the measure could lead to cost savings of €28m a year, and hopes pharmaceutical firms will now start researching the impact of taking medicines with food.

In the US, drugs firms do research the impact of drugs with a standard breakfast of bacon and eggs, but this is very different to the light breakfasts eaten in Europe, the paper said.

Manufacturers recommend taking drugs on an empty stomach because medicine combined with a heavy meal leads to the drug being absorbed into the blood stream too quickly.

Erasmus professor Ron Mathijssen told the paper that more research is needed before the findings can be put into practice.

In particular, there are questions about what a standard breakfast actually entails, he said. ‘What happens if a patient eats more yoghurt or simply isn’t hungry?,’ he said. ‘That could change the concentration of medicine in the blood and that can be dangerous.’