Bleach may have some beneficial effects in fighting cancer, new research seems to say, as vaccines for cancer have the potential to perform better with this ingredient. Vaccines work by allowing the body’s immune system to recognize cancer tissues and destroy them. But often, the immune system finds it difficult to distinguish the cancer cells from the healthy ones.
But researchers at University College London (UCL) have been able to place a finger on hypochlorous acid, found in bleach, which helps the immune system to act with full potency on dead cancer cells. Researchers think that the immune system is better equipped to identify cells killed in this manner, as quantities of a compound that is similar to bleach is produced when immune cells destroy bacteria or other antigens.Cancer cells which were destroyed in a laboratory using bleach showed very similar residue, leading the researchers to conclude a similar response in the human body. Professor Benny Chain, of UCL, said: This experiment was done very much on a shoe-string budget. It is very low-tech,but has produced some very exciting results.
Dr Kat Arney, at Cancer Research UK, while welcoming the research also warned We don't want people to take matters into their own hands by going to the kitchen cabinet. The scientists are clearly not suggesting that household bleach has a role to play in cancer treatment
