Garlic may provide new cancer treatment

Compounds found in garlic may provide a new brain cancer treatment, researchers have said.

A study has revealed that organo-sulphur compounds may be able to kill brain cancer cells and help to combat glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain tumour.

Scientists at the Medical University of South Carolina studied three garlic-derived compounds, DAS, DADS and DATS, and found that all three demonstrated some level of effectiveness, with DATS producing the most noticeable response.

The study, due to be published in the journal Cancer, suggests that garlic may therefore provide a new cancer treatment, although the researchers emphasised that any such treatment would not be available for many years.

Dr Naren Banik, professor of neurology and one of the researchers, commented: "We may have to wait several years before its application to humans, but the significance of this discovery is enormous.

"The benefits from this research to brain cancer patients will bring great satisfaction to researchers and clinicians who are trying to find a successful treatment for this devastating cancer."
 
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