Scientists are on track to develop a pill, containing extracts of broccoli and cabbage mixed with those from Brazil nuts, which they claim would be an effective drug to fight skin cancer.
Earlier researches showed that compounds from the vegetables mixed with selenium, contained in Brazil nuts, work better at attacking tumours than conventional treatment.
Now an international team is developing what it claims would be the first commercially available drugs actually made from a cocktail of compounds to fight skin cancer, 'The Daily Telegraph' reported.
In fact, researchers have already made a drug which can halt the growth of skin cancer tumours in laboratory mice by up to 60 per cent. And, they believe mixing isothiocyanates -- the substances that give the greens flavour -- and selenium may even be added to sun screen lotion in future.
Lead researcher Prof Gavin Robertson of Pennsylvania State University said up until now there've been no drugs that target proteins which trigger melanoma. "We've developed drugs from naturally occurring compounds that can inhibit the growth of tumours in mice by 50 to 60 per cent with a very low dose."
Initial tests found the potency of the broccoli and cabbage compounds was so low that a successful drug would require large, impractical amounts of these compounds. Instead the researchers boosted the effectiveness of the compounds by adding selenium.
The result was a much more potent drug that can be delivered intravenously in low doses. In tests on mice, the mixture was found to reduce growth of tumours by 60 per cent.
Human trials of the new drug are still some years away, but Prof Robertson forecasts a drug that could be delivered either intravenously to treat skin cancer or added to sunscreen lotion to prevent the disease from occurring.
