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 promising² results and researchers believe the compound breast milk contains - nicknamed Hamlet - will also help tackle bowel³ cancer and cervical cancer. 

 

They also say it homes in on cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed - so it has none of the debilitating⁴ 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 gut⁵. 

 

Prof Svanborg, an immunologist at Lund University in Sweden, made the chance discovery that the substance kills tumour cells when working on antibiotics⁶. 

 

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 amazement⁷, when we added this compound of milk, the tumour cells died. It was a totally serendipitous⁸ discovery.' 

 

The substance attacks cancer cells in numerous ways - first evading⁹ the cell's outer defences, then targeting the 'power station' mitochondria and the 'instruction manual' nucleus¹⁰. These actions cut off the cell's energy source and 'programme' it to commit suicide, in a process called apoptosis.

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