Flesh and Stone: UK researchers exploring 'chemoprevention' to stall cancer

UK researchers exploring 'chemoprevention' to stall cancer
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Kathlyn Stone on 10 June, 2008 09:35:00
 
Researchers at the University of Leicester who have been studying the possible
chemopreventive properties of natural products including resveratrol (from
grapes, red wine, nuts and berries), curcumin (from turmeric–curry) and tricin
(contained in wild rice) will present their findings Thursday, June 26th, during
the Festival of Postgraduate Research.
Chemoprevention involves the use of natural or synthetic products such as drugs
and vitamins to prevent or delay the formation of cancer.
“The prevention of cancer is an alternative to the treatment of the disease
using chemotherapy which has many unpleasant side effects," according to Charles
Simon, a post graduate student at Leicester who has been involved with the
research. The aim of this project is to learn lessons from those compounds to
produce treatments with little or no side effects.”
After heart disease, cancer is the single largest cause of death in the UK and
in most developed countries. Statistics from Cancer Research UK indicate that
more than one-in-three people will be affected by cancer at some point in their
life -- either by developing cancer themselves or friends or relatives who have
the disease.
For more information go here.