BRIT scientists have invented a “sugar bomb” which destroys greedy cancer cells in seconds.
Tumours need food in order to spread so gobble up the sweet “bomb” which contains a drug.
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A light shone on those cancer cells detonates the “explosive”, known as SeNBD.
It works because cancers grow fast and need more food than healthy cells, which are not harmed by the drug.
Scientists hope the sugar treatment will boost survival and spare patients damaging chemotherapy.
So far, it has only been used on glioblastoma, the most common brain cancer. In tests, it destroyed the tumour’s sugar-craving cells in seconds.
The method is being adapted to fight cancers that prefer fat or protein, Nature Communications reported.
Breast, prostate and lung cancers could be combated by the approach.
Researcher Sam Benson, of Edinburgh University, said of the sugar bomb technique: “The drug absorbs the energy from the light.
“It uses the energy to weaponise the oxygen in the cells, killing them from within.”
The Brain Tumour Charity said the method could be an “innovative new way to target aggressive cancer cells while sparing healthy cells”.
