Cancer Therapy Uses Chlorophyll Based Drug

The illness of a family member prompted Avigdor Scherz, a plant biochemist based at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, to develop a new treatment for prostate cancer. He knew that when chlorophyll is hit by light it releases “highly reactive molecules capable of destroying nearby cells” (from the article). He theorized that a drug made from the plant pigment could be activated by light focused on a specific area of the body.

Professor Scherz developed a drug called, Tookad, using chlorophyll from a sea bacterium after testing various sources for the most effective molecules. After the drug is injected into the body, small lasers are inserted into the prostate. Light from the lasers activates the drug, destroying the blood vessels that supply the tumour.

Clinical trials in Great Britain and Canada have been very promising. Current treatments often leave patients incontinent and impotent. The new therapy appears to cause far fewer complications.

Link: Plant therapy offers prostate cancer cure from the Sunday Times — Britain

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 5:01 PM on June 29, 2005

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