Patients in Leicester, UK, are set to be the first to test the potential of curry spices to treat cancer.
Doctors plan to use chemicals in the spice turmeric as part of treatment for advanced bowel cancer.
Scientists have been suggesting for some time that curcumin, found in turmeric, could have anti-cancer properties.
Up the 60 per cent of patients with the condition do not respond to the triple chemotherapy treatment that is used – and many have unpleasant side-effects.
Researchers believe the curry chemical may make cancer cells more responsive to the treatment.
Professor William Steward, director of the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre at Leicester University, said: “Once bowel cancer has spread it is very difficult to treat, partly because the side effects of chemotherapy can limit how long patients can have treatment.
"The prospect that curcumin might increase the sensitivity of cancer cells to chemotherapy is exciting because it could mean giving lower doses, so patients have fewer side effects and can keep having treatment for longer.
“This research is at a very early stage, but investigating the potential of plant chemicals to treat cancer is an intriguing area that we hope could provide clues to developing new drugs in the future.”
Colin Carroll, aged 62, from Loughborough, UK, is set to be among the first patients to test the treatment.
He said: "The way I see it is that I’m being given the best possible chance so in that sense I feel very fortunate."
The project has backing from a range of organisations include the Royal College of Surgeons, Hope Against Cancer and Cancer Research UK.
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