Cough medicine ingredient may treat prostate cancer
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Noscapine, a natural substance found in cough medicine, may prove useful in treating advanced prostate cancer, according to studies in mice.
Researchers found that noscapine — a non-addictive derivative of opium — reduced tumor growth in mice by 60 percent and limited the spread of tumors by 65 percent without causing harmful side effects.
Dr. Israel Barken, of The Prostate Cancer Research and Education Foundation, La Mesa, California, and colleagues report their finding in the journal Anticancer Research.