在科学家意外发现母乳中含有可以杀死肿瘤细胞的物质之后，人们正在用母乳来治疗癌症。
Breast milk is being used to fight cancer after scientists accidentally discovered it contains a substance that kills tumour cells.
在膀胱癌患者身上的实验已经取得了可喜的成果，而研究人员们认为，含有“哈姆雷特”物质的母乳化合物对肠癌和宫颈癌也有疗效。
Trials in patients with bladder cancer have already yielded promising results and researchers believe the compound breast milk contains – nicknamed Hamlet – will also help tackle bowel cancer and cervical cancer.
研究人员还表示，这种物质会在癌细胞上生长却又不会损伤健康的细胞，因此不会有像化疗那样带来的使人衰弱的副作用。
They also say it homes in on cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed – so it has none of the debilitating side effects of chemotherapy.
最先发现该现象的凯瑟琳娜·斯万伯格教授表示：“'哈姆雷特'能够很神奇地以肿瘤细胞为目标并杀死它们。”
Professor Catharina Svanborg, who made the initial discovery, said last night: 'There's something magical about Hamlet's ability to target tumour cells and kill them.'
她表示，母乳中含有一种被称之为α-乳白蛋白的蛋白质，可以在肠道里转化为一种抗癌剂。
She said human breast milk contained a protein called alpha-lactalbumin, which is transformed into a cancer-fighting agent when in the gut.
斯万伯格教授是瑞典隆德大学的免疫学家，她是在对抗生素进行研究时偶然发现的这种物质可以杀死肿瘤细胞。
Prof Svanborg, an immunologist at Lund University in Sweden, made the chance discovery that the substance kills tumour cells when working on antibiotics.
她表示：“我们当时正在寻找新的抗菌药物，而母乳是这些药物的很好来源。在一次试验中，我们需要人类细胞和细菌，而出于实际的原因我们选择了肿瘤细胞。”
She said: 'We were looking for novel antimicrobial agents, and new breast milk is a very good source of these. During one experiment we needed human cells and bacteria to be present, and we chose human tumour cells for practical reasons.
“令我们惊讶的是，当我们添加这种母乳化合物的时候，肿瘤细胞被杀死了。这完全是一个偶然的发现。”
'To our amazement, when we added this compound of milk, the tumour cells died. It was a totally serendipitous discovery.'