Potential cancer treatment in breast milk

HAMLET, a derivative of alpha-lactalbumin from human breast milk, has previously been shown to introduce apoptosis (the process of cell death) in a wide range of tumour cells in the lab. This experiment was the first time that it has been shown to have this effect in living organisms.

Rats with human glioblastoma tumours, one of the most malignant kind of brain tumour, that were treated with HAMLET, had significantly less tumour growth than untreated rats. The researchers concluded that this positive experimental result indicates that HAMLET should be considered as a possible new candidate in cancer therapy and further experiments should be undertaken.