ONTARIO – Researchers at the University of Wisconsin have identified what they’re calling a “stellar” cancer killer that works better than chemotherapy and does so without damaging healthy cells.
The research, published this week in the journal Nature, studies the “high therapeutic potential” of several cancer-killing compounds that have been synthesized in a lab to mimic those found in the common spider lily plant, according to the Windsor Star.
The lab-created compounds were the work of scientists at both Brock and McMaster universities in Ontario, Canada. The scientists reportedly created seven versions of these compounds and after some testing, found that three of them showed “great effectiveness killing cancer cells,” the newspaper reports.
Researchers tested the compounds on 20 different kinds of cancer, including skin, colon, brain and pancreatic cancer, and found that the three compounds killed all of these cancers in lab-cultured cancer samples and in mice, according to the newspaper.
While the research shows positive signs in the fight against cancer, researchers said the natural compound is hard to come by. Another problem is money – further research will cost millions and millions of dollars, researchers said.
The newspaper writes the research “is the most comprehensive study of the compounds, their anti-cancer effects and the mechanisms of how they work.”
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