Molecules derived from avocados might help combat cancer, according to a new study conducted by University of Waterloo Professor Paul Spagnuolo.
In the study, which was published on Monday in the journal Cancer Research, Spagnuolo found that a lipid found in avocados targets the stem cells of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), which places it in the small group of drug treatments available which directly attack luekemia stem cells while leaving healthy cells unscathed.
Acute myeloid leukemia — which is also known as acute myelocytic leukemia, acute myelogenous leukemia, acute granulocytic leukemia and acute non-lymphocytic leukemia — is an aggressive form of cancer which kills 90 percent of the people diagnosed who are over the age 65. AML is fatal in just five years.
While a leukemia drug derived from the fruit is still years away from reaching the market, Spagnuolo has already started preparations for the drug’s Phase I clinical trial, according to a report on TIME which quoted the University of Waterloo researcher as having said that the stem cell “drives the disease” and is “the reason why so many patients with leukemia relapse.”
The stem cell is really the cell that drives the disease (…) The stem cell is largely responsible for the disease developing and it’s the reason why so many patients with leukemia relapse.
The exact lipid isolated by Spagnuolo’s research is known as avocatin B.
Avocados have long been revered as a vitamin-packed superfood with good fat content, according to The Washington Post.
In other news, an unrelated study has linked smoking to 12 different types of cancer.
What are your thoughts on Avocado’s recently discovered cancer fighting potential?
