研究發現 母乳竟然可以殺死癌細胞大綱
Breast milk is being used to fight cancer after scientists accidentally discovered it contains a substance that kills tumour cells.
在科學家意外發現母乳中含有可以殺死腫瘤細胞的物質之後，人們正在用母乳來治療癌症。Trials in patients with bladder cancer have already yielded promising results and researchers believe the compound breast milk contains – nicknamed Hamlet – will also help tackle bowel cancer and cervical cancer.
在膀胱癌患者身上的實驗已經取得了可喜的成果，而研究人員們認爲，含有“哈姆雷特”物質的母乳化合物對腸癌和宮頸癌也有療效。They also say it homes in on cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed – so it has none of the debilitating side effects of chemotherapy.
研究人員還表示，這種物質會在癌細胞上生長卻又不會損傷健康的細胞，因此不會有像化療那樣帶來的使人衰弱的副作用。
Professor Catharina Svanborg, who made the initial discovery, said last night: 'There's something magical about Hamlet's ability to target tumour cells and kill them.'
最先發現該現象的凱瑟琳娜·斯萬伯格教授表示：“'哈姆雷特'能夠很神奇地以腫瘤細胞爲目標並殺死它們。”
She said human breast milk contained a protein called alpha-lactalbumin, which is transformed into a cancer-fighting agent when in the gut.
她表示，母乳中含有一種被稱之爲α-乳白蛋白的蛋白質，可以在腸道里轉化爲一種抗癌劑。Prof Svanborg, an immunologist at Lund University in Sweden, made the chance discovery that the substance kills tumour cells when working on antibiotics.
斯萬伯格教授是瑞典隆德大學的免疫學家，她是在對抗生素進行研究時偶然發現的這種物質可以殺死腫瘤細胞。She said: '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 tumour cells for practical reasons.
她表示：“我們當時正在尋找新的抗菌藥物，而母乳是這些藥物的很好來源。在一次試驗中，我們需要人類細胞和細菌，而出於實際的原因我們選擇了腫瘤細胞。”'To our amazement, when we added this compound of milk, the tumour cells died. It was a totally serendipitous discovery.'
“令我們驚訝的是，當我們添加這種母乳化合物的時候，腫瘤細胞被殺死了。這完全是一個偶然的發現。”
