母乳能杀死肿瘤细胞

Breast milk is being used to fight cancer after scientists accidentally discovered it contains a substance that kills tumour¹ cells. , ,科学家们意外发现母乳中含有能杀死肿瘤细胞的物质后，正试图通过母乳来对抗癌症 。, ,Trials in patients with bladder cancer have already yielded promising ² results and researchers believe the compound breast milk contains - nicknamed Hamlet - will also help tackle bowel ³ cancer and cervical cancer. , ,They also say it homes in on cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed - so it has none of the debilitating ⁴ side effects of chemotherapy. , ,Professor Catharina Svanborg, who made the initial discovery, said: 'There's something magical about Hamlet's ability to target tumour cells and kill them.' , ,She said human breast milk contained a protein called alpha-lactalbumin, which is transformed into a cancer-fighting agent when in the gut ⁵. , ,Prof Svanborg, an immunologist at Lund University in Sweden, made the chance discovery that the substance kills tumour cells when working on antibiotics ⁶. , ,She said: 'We were looking for novel antimicrobial agents, and new breast milk is a very good source of these. During one experiment we needed human cells and bacteria to be present, and we chose human tumour cells for practical reasons. , ,'To our amazement ⁷, when we added this compound of milk, the tumour cells died. It was a totally serendipitous ⁸ discovery.' , ,The substance attacks cancer cells in numerous ways - first evading ⁹ the cell's outer defences, then targeting the 'power station' mitochondria and the 'instruction manual' nucleus ¹⁰. These actions cut off the cell's energy source and 'programme' it to commit suicide, in a process called apoptosis.