A study conducted by Nottingham University in the UK has found that a family of molecules called vanilloids, which includes capsaicin (the active ingredient in hot peppers), have a very highly specific ability to selectively kill cancer cells by disrputing their mitochondria.
The study showed that the family of molecules to which capsaicin belongs, the vanilloids, bind to proteins in the cancer cell mitochondria to trigger apoptosis, or cell death, without harming surrounding healthy cells.
Capsaicin was tested on cultures of human lung cancer cells and on pancreatic cancers.
Lead researcher Dr Timothy Bates said: "As these compounds attack the very heart of the tumour cells, we believe that we have in effect discovered a fundamental 'Achilles heel' for all cancers.
"The biochemistry of the mitochondria in cancer cells is very different from that in normal cells.
"This is an innate selective vulnerability of cancer cells."
Unlike any currently existing treatment except the the latest experimental treatments using recombinant-DNA targeted antibodies, the vanilloids selectively attack only cancer cells, without harming adjacent healthy cells. (Unfortunately, there is as yet no evidence that merely eating spicy food conveys a protection against cancer; the capsaicin has to enter the bloodstream.)