Intestinal health may be improved by a protein complex, originally from human milk

Catharina Svanborg

Chairman of the board, Hamlet BioPharma AB and Professor at Lund University

With inputs from colleagues:
Martin Erixon, Jakob Testad, Sid Chinchankar, Björn Wullt, Ines Ambite, Hien Tran

Scientists are exploring a milk protein complex that effectively kills cancer cells and prevents tumour growth — especially in colon cancer.

Colon cancer is one of the most common types of cancer — 180,000 cases are diagnosed every year in the US alone — and a leading cause of death worldwide. Patients with colon cancer are usually treated with surgery followed by chemotherapy to reduce the risk of recurrence — but recurrence rates are high, and the side effects of chemotherapy are often severe.

Potential non-toxic treatment for colon cancer

The scientists at Lund University are currently investigating the discovery of a non-toxic treatment approach for colon cancer using a milk protein complex that effectively kills cancer cells. The complex has shown strong effects on tumour tissue growth, especially for colon cancer.

We introduced the complex in the drinking water of mice that were genetically susceptible to developing intestinal tumours.

Promising way of delaying tumour development

“We introduced the complex in the drinking water of mice that were genetically susceptible to developing intestinal tumours,” explains Hien Tran, Scientist at Lund University. “The results were exciting because tumour development was markedly reduced and the long-term survival was increased in these mice.”

In mice that had already developed cancer, the team found that the complex targeted the tumour rather than healthy intestinal tissue. What’s more, it did not cause side effects in mice with cancer or in healthy mice that received the complex in their drinking water — an extremely promising development.