Natural Compounds May Help Treat Cancer

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Oregon State University scientists say they've discovered some food compounds studied for an ability to prevent cancer might also be able to treat it. Researchers at the university's Linus Pauling Institute suggest some natural food compounds might be effective in working side-by-side with conventional drugs that are now used in chemotherapy. The scientists said they examined the activity of chlorophyllin and found, on a dose-by-dose basis, it was 10 times more potent at causing the death of colon cancer cells than hydroxyurea, a chemotherapeutic drug commonly used in cancer treatment. Beyond that, chlorophyllin kills cancer cells by blocking the same phase of cellular division that hydroxyurea d...