Breast milk protein shows even more promise against bladder cancer in new clinical trial

Common protein found in human breast milk has been seen to quickly kill bladder tumour cells

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A common protein in human breast milk is being tested for its use against bladder cancer, with promising results. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 5:45am, 27 Feb 2025Updated: 8:27am, 2 Mar 2025

Corrected [8:18am, 2 Mar, 2025]

[8:18am, 2 Mar, 2025]
The treatment for cystitis and urinary tract infections described uses a protein found in breast milk but not derived from breast milk, as headlines and some captions suggested. These have been changed.

A potential cancer cure that uses a replica of a protein found in human breast milk has even greater results when given in higher doses, new clinical trials show.

Alpha1H is a drug synthesised from alpha-lactalbumin, the most common protein in human breast milk, bound to a fatty acid known as oleic acid. In a recent study, it showed complete or partial response in triggering rapid tumour-cell death in 88 per cent of early-stage bladder cancer tumours.

It was developed by Hamlet BioPharma, headed by Swedish professor Catharina Svanborg of Lund University Sweden, who made the accidental discovery of the breast milk molecule’s cancer-fighting potential in 1995.

There were more than 610,000 new bladder cancer cases and more than 220,000 deaths globally in 2022, according to the World Cancer Research Fund. China had the highest number of new cases, at more than 92,000, and 41,000 deaths. Bladder cancer has a high recurrence rate and there is no cure.

Professor Catharina Svanborg of Lund University Sweden discovered the potential of breast milk in the fight against cancer in 1995. Photo: Catharina Svanborg

“We are looking at how to alleviate the situation for bladder cancer patients with newly diagnosed cancer, and how to hopefully prevent the tumour from getting worse and how to make surgery easier,” Svanborg says.

The breast-milk protein used in Alpha1H “is a very interesting molecule because it’s broadly active against many different types of tumour cells. So in a future scenario, we are hoping that it could be helpful for many different types of cancer.”