Rare plant compound stops breast cancer cells dead

They started with a bare room and an idea. Now, after 5 years of painstaking, sophisticated tests, scientists at the University of Virginia Health System have discovered that a compound, derived from a rare South American plant, stops the growth of human breast cancer cells in laboratory cultures.

U. Va. Health System scientists Deborah Lannigan and Jeffrey Smith hope that, after further testing, their discovery could translate into a successful drug for the treatment of breast cancer. The disease is the second leading cancer killer of women in the U.S., according to the...

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