A new cancer treatment using healthy cells to stop the disease from developing has been reported by researchers at the University of Manchester.
They discovered that chemicals called kinase inhibitors allow normal and cancerous cells to form a connection, in which it is the healthy cells that "take charge".
Dr Ian Hampson, who has been at the university since 1997 and led the study with his wife Dr Lynne Hampson, found that the diseased cells began acting like normal cells and stopped multiplying.
"Intriguingly, the connections that allowed the healthy cells to communicate with the cancer cells stayed open even when the kinase inhibitors were removed," he said.
He also noted that the chemicals are not poisonous, which could mean fewer side-effects if a drug based on the therapy was to be produced.
Dr Lynn Hampson claimed that she and her husband were in the process of applying for funding to investigate the effect of these chemicals further.
