Scientists Link Breast Milk to Cancer Cure
Some cancer patients are turning to mothers' milk after it was discovered that the liquid coming from a woman's breast has a substance with incredible tumor-fighting abilities. Researchers at Sweden's Lund University have conducted trials that yielded promising results.
Epidemiological evidence showed that breast milk contained a protein and fatty acid called alpha-lactalbumin, which is transformed into a cancer-fighting agent that destroys killer cells without harming the good ones, and thus, has none of the debilitating side effects of chemotherapy.
Prof. Catharina Svanborg, an immunologist, said she accidentally discovered the treatment while working on antibiotics. They injected the protein in patients with bladder cancer and began shedding dead tumor cells in their urine within days. Scientists are positive this can also be used for bowel and cervical cancer.
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"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 tumor cells for practical reasons.," Svanborg said. "To our amazement, when we added this compound of milk, the tumor cells died," she added.
The substance works by attacking the cancer cell's "power station" mitochondria and the "instruction manual" nucleus. By doing so, it cuts off the cell's energy source and "programs" it to kill itself through a process called apoptosis. The molecule also evades healthy cells.
The scientists named the substance Human Alpha-lactalbumin Made Lethal to Tumor cells or Hamlet. Laboratory experiments indicate it can kill 40 different types of cancer. Further studies are made if this can also cure skin cancer, tumors in the mucous membranes and brain tumors.
In as early as the 1980s, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control observed that breastfed children were less likely to develop cancer than children fed on milk formula. In 2001, a milk bank in San Jose, California began supplying donated breast milk to cancer patients who have a doctor's prescription.
