Monday, July 16, 2012

The death carrot

When you are a cancer patient, you are reduced to getting excited by news stories like this one:

A chemical in the poisonous Mediterranean weed Thapsia garganica — known as "death carrot" by Arab nomads — was found to kill tumor cells in mice, according to scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. The anti-cancer drug G202, derived from the weed, travels through the bloodstream until activated by cancer proteins. It won't attack healthy blood vessels and tissues. The researchers treated 29 patients with advanced cancer and are planning a second trial to test the drug in people with prostate and liver cancer.

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