Combining two cancer drugs has been found to prolong the lifespan of mice—and may help humans age better .

An international team of researchers analyzed the impact of rapamycin and trametinib on rodents, showing that the pair extended the animals' lifespan by around 30 percent.

The combination therapy was also found to improve the mice's health in older age, reducing the extent of chronic inflammation in the brain and other tissues and slowing cancer onset.

"We do not expect a similar extension to human lifespans as we found in mice," said paper author and geneticist professor Dame Linda Partridge of University College London in a statement.

However, she added, "we hope that the drugs we're investigating could help people to stay healthy and disease-free for longer late in life."

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