There is breaking news in the battle against cancer. It involves an all-natural agent that takes out cancer cells…without debilitating side effects.

It comes from Dr. Laurence Patterson. He’s the director of the UK Institute for Cancer Therapeutics (ICT). He also leads cancer research for England’s University of Bradford.

Dr. Patterson has used a flower extract to create a ‘smart bomb’…that targets cancer cells…and leaves healthy ones intact.

“There are many agents currently used in the treatment of cancer that are essentially poisons,” says Dr. Patterson. “Normal chemotherapy can often be the death of (a) patient as opposed to the tumor itself.”

Dr. Patterson’s treatment is different…it detonates within cancer cells…but doesn’t harm the healthy tissues around them.

He presented his research last week at the 2011 British Science Festival.

“We’ve got a smart bomb that will only be active in the tumor and will not cause damage to normal tissue,” he said. “It’s a new treatment that could be effective against pretty much all types of tumor.”

He’s also made his findings available to his peers online…and has published them in Cancer Research. And now cancer experts are celebrating his discovery.

“This is a new approach (that) target(s) tumor blood vessels that cancers need for growth,” says Dr. Paul Workman.

Dr. Workman heads up cancer research for the University of London. Before that he was part of the oncology research unit for Cambridge University.

“The results look promising,” says Dr. Workman. “This approach could be (a) very useful treatment for various cancers.”

So just what is this new approach? And how does it work. We’ll tell you what it is…what the findings show…and what they mean to you.

Detonating the Smart Bomb

Dr. Patterson has studied cancer for over 25 years. But he may have just made his biggest discovery. One that he believes is genuinely “hope giving.”

He did a series of tests on lab mice that were bred to display human cancerous tumors. These mice were then injected with the natural drug. And the results were remarkable.

The mice had a cure rate of over 70 percent after one single dose. Tumors in all of the mice significantly shrunk. In half the mice, their tumors were completely eliminated. In the other half the tumors shrank significantly.

Dr. Patterson and his team tested the solution on different types of cancer. It worked on many types…without bad side effects.

“We’ve looked at colon, prostate, breast and lung (cancer) so far, and all have responded very well to this treatment,” says Dr. Patterson.

So what is the solution? And how does it work?

Activating the “Killer Agent”

The bomb uses a chemical agent called colchicine which is extracted from a natural flower called the autumn crocus.

Colchicine is a natural poison that’s known to have powerful anti-cancer properties. But so far it’s only used to treat gout. That’s because it’s too poisonous to use against cancer.

But Dr. Patterson’s discovery may change all that…

He’s found a way to make the agent inactive by chemically attaching a molecular protein “tail” to it. That keeps the agent inert and makes it safe to wander through the body…without causing harm.

The agent is triggered when it comes into contact with an enzyme called matrix metalloproteases (MMP). MMP is found only in cancerous tumors. Once the agent mixes with the MMPs…its chemical tail breaks off. And that activates the poison.

It then attacks blood vessels in the tumor…taking out its food supply…and shuts down growth.

“If you can starve the tumor of that blood supply, then you shut off its ability to grow and move around the body,” says Dr. Patterson.

Dr. Patterson notes there are no side effects. All his studies show that the agent does not affect healthy tissue.

And plenty of other scientists are impressed by the recent discovery as well.

Henry Scowcroft of Cancer Research UK says the results offer real hope to cancer patients.

“This is exciting,” says Scowcroft. “The Bradford results are impressive and their beauty is in their simplicity.”

Hope on the Horizon

So far tests have only been done on mice. The next step is a clinical trial to test its safety. Those tests will be conducted at St. James’s University Hospital in West Yorkshire in England.

The first test on humans could start in as little as 18 months. And if successful the solution could be on the market within five years.

NHD will keep you posted on those clinical trials.

In the meantime…there are other options to face off against cancer. We reported on one miracle mushroom that could be a solution for multiple cancers. It is currently available as a supplement, but you can buy the mushrooms yourself at a specialty store. To read the article, click here.

To your best health,

Michael Jelinek,

Managing Editor, NHD “Health Watch”