New Study Says Eating Chili Peppers Could Slow Lung Cancer Progression
BOSTON (CBS) -- Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in men and women but researchers at Marshall University found that a compound in spicy foods could help slow the spread of lung cancer.
The compound is called capsaicin and gives chili peppers their heat, but it's currently used in creams or patches to treat chronic pain. And now researchers are studying its potential anti-cancer properties.
In a series of experiments, researchers found that capsaicin can inhibit the growth and proliferation of lung cancer cells and when mice were fed capsaicin they had smaller areas of metastatic cells in their lungs than mice who not receive it.
They believe that the compound can stop activation of a protein which helps cells grow and divide.
One big problem is that ingesting capsaicin can cause significant stomach upset, but scientists hope that one day they can develop a form that is more tolerable and use it with other chemotherapies to treat a variety of lung cancers.