By Stephen Lau

Thursday Jan 5, 2012 (foodconsumer.org) -- A study published in the journal Oncotarget indicated that Lithocholic acid (LCA) can kill several types of cancer cells such as breast cancer cells without damaging normal cells.

According to Oxfordjournals, Lithocholic acid is a bile acid that acts as a detergent to solubilize fats for absorption. It has been implicated in human and experimental animal carcinogenesis.

The study found that LCA kills tumors (neuroblastomas) and human breast cancer cells, which indicates that it has a wide effect on different cancers.

Previous studies conducted by the same team also found that LCA extends the lifespan of aging yeast, in correlation with the new finding, a huge improvement over the baby-with-the-bathwater drugs used in chemotherapy.

In addition to the ability to kill individual cancer cells, “It could also prevent the entire tumor from growing,” said Vladimir Titorenko, senior author of the study and the Research Chair in Genomics, Cell Biology and Aging of Concordia University.

LCA is the only compound that targets cancer cells, which could translate into tumor-halting power, and it prevents tumors from releasing substances that cause neighboring cancer cells to grow and proliferate without damaging any normal cells, unlike other anti-aging compounds.

Since the LCA is already present in our bodies unlike drugs and its harmlessness to normal cells, the scientists will take another step to test LCA’s effect on different cancers in a mice model, which may be a clue to treat human cancers.