Scientists in Britain have invented a “sugar bomb” which destroys cancer cells in a matter of seconds, it has emerged.
Cancerous tumours need “food” to spread, so they consume the “bomb” which has a drug inside it.
Scientists at the University of Edinburgh combined the tiny cancer-killing molecule SeNBD with a chemical food compound to trick malignant cells into ingesting it.
The peer-reviewed experimental study was carried out on zebrafish and human cells, but researchers say more studies are needed to confirm if it is a safe and swift method of treating early stage cancer and drug-resistant bacteria.
Healthy cells are not harmed by the drug and it only works against cancer cells because they grow fast and need more food than the healthy ones.
Scientists hope that with this discovery the new treatment will increase survival rates and also prevent patients from having to go through chemotherapy.
It’s only been tested on glioblastoma so far, which is the most common type of brain cancer.
Tests showed that the “sugar bomb” destroyed the sugar-craving cells in the tumour in mere seconds.
